Sweet Little Sister
by Cookiecuttersaint
Summary: Elena has a younger sister, Jeremy's twin. How will her presence change things? Damon feels drawn to her, she disturbes his tough, untouchable demeanor. What will it lead to? Will she be able to appeal to his humanity? Or will she be just another one of his victims?
1. Chapter 1

"Lilly! It's time to wake up!" Jenna called from the hallway as she knocked on her niece's door.

The teenager groaned. It was the first day of school after summer break and she so did not want to get used to the early morning routine again. She was a night person and had easily gotten accustomed to staying up late and sleeping in.

Yawning quite loudly and stretching in this directing and that like a cat, Lilly reluctantly got up and sluggishly made her way to the bathroom.

She shared the bathroom with her twin brother Jeremy, but being a typical boy he hardly took any time. A shower and a spritz of deodorant was all he seemed to need in the morning to be fresh and ready.

Lilly took her time. She'd taken a shower last night, so she just had to clean her teeth and brush her long golden blond locks so they would fall in soft curls instead of the birds-nest nature seemed to command them into.

Getting dressed wasn't a huge issue for Lilly. She didn't much care for fashion. Her outfits contained mostly of blue jeans, sneakers and shirts. The shirts only varied between short-sleeved and long-sleeved depending on the season with the occasional pullover thrown in the mix.

Being a member of one of Mystic Falls' founding families she was considered a part of the 'higher society' of this small town and did own a collection of elegant dresses and preppy shoes, but those were strictly reserved for the frequent semi-official events where this kind of wardrobe was mandatory.

If she felt really fancy on a hot summer day she would wear a sun-dress but that was the extend of her fashion sense. She usually couldn't be bothered to care and today was no exception to the rule.

Lilly was also not a morning person at all. She was grumpy and taciturn until the caffeine from her first cup of coffee had a chance to circulate through her body. While Elena and even Jeremy liked to get up at the crack of dawn to get ready, write in their journal (in Elena's case) or do some last minute homework-damage-control (in Jeremy's case), Lilly liked to stay in bed and dream the time away until the last minute. The family naturally knew this quirk of hers and left her alone as long as possible. Being as low-maintenance as she was certainly was an advantage and allowed her a few precious extra minutes in bed.

So even so she got ready for the day fairly quickly Jeremy as per usual had beaten her to the kitchen. He could be miserable or as high as a kite, yet he always made it downstairs before his twin sister.

He was standing to the side casually leaning against the counter and was watching a hectic Jenna rush around the kitchen with the occasional roll of his eyes, while Elena looked on in fond amusement.

Lilly walked over to Jeremy and threw her arms around his waist leaning her head against his shoulder. "Morning" she mumbled drowsily to nobody in particular.

"Morning sleepy-head, awake yet?" her twin chuckled as he ran a hand through her curls, his other hand snaking around her shoulders to pull her closer.

She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. "Mhmm."

Jeremy kept running his hand through her hair. He knew she needed a little extra affection this morning what with learning to get up early again and everyone waiting to question her about her well-being. He wished he could shelter her from the nosy people, but it was inevitable. After not seeing her as often due to recess, people would be especially nosy now.

Lilly hummed contentedly enjoying her brother's caresses. She was even tempted to fall asleep again, it was that good, but she managed to stay awake, barely. She wasn't yet ready to take part in the conversation and the others ignored her presence for the most part.

"Toast!" Jenna exclaimed with her head in the fridge. "I can make toast!" The woman seemed more nervous about the first day of school than her charges.

It was probably understandable. She got thrown into this situation completely unawares. One day she was a careless college student and the next she suddenly was responsible for three teenagers without any guidance whatsoever.

Sometimes she wished there was a handbook. It would help her not to be so afraid of messing up. She would destroy lives if she messed up. Those kids were not like flowers which demise was sad but they could be replaced. This was very very different and much more terrifying.

Jenna was out of her depth but so were the kids, she realized. They were as lost as she was. How could anyone prepare for a catastrophe like this? It wasn't possible.

All Jenna could do was give it her best. She had pushed her own grief over her sister's death to the back of her mind. The kids needed her and they were sure to be worse off than she was, no matter how much she loved her sister and brother-in-law. It couldn't compare to losing one's parents at such a young age.

She loved Miranda's children, always had. At least they were close. You gotta be grateful for small mercies, she figured. This would be a lot harder if they were strangers.

And the kids were great. She could have had it worse. These kids were brought up right and were very well adjusted. Especially the twins were very independent for their age. Jeremy was a little troubled, he'd been in a rebellious phase to begin with and his parent's death screwed him up even more, but he had Lilly.

Jenna was aware of the twins' close relationship and was thankful for it. Lilly balanced Jeremy out and even though she never outwardly showed it, Jenna had a suspicion that Lilly was even more dependent on Jeremy than vice-versa. She didn't study psychology for nothing, after all. And their current display of affection was further proof of that theory. Lilly clung to Jeremy.

Or maybe they clung to each other. Who knew and did it really matter?

Jenna groaned inwardly. It was too much.

"It's all about the coffee, aunt Jenna" Elena announced, interrupting her aunts thought process, and filled a cup for herself. Jeremy released Lilly as he grabbed the cup from Elena to thrust it into his twin's hands. Elena exhaled exasperatedly as she got herself a new cup but didn't complain.

"It's your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared!" Jenna rambled on. "Lunch money?" She pulled a few bills from her purse offering them to the siblings. Elena and Lilly shook their heads, but Jeremy grabbed the money and stuffed it in his pocket. Lilly had an idea what it would be used for, yet she didn't comment. She wasn't happy with her brother's drug usage, but it was way to early in the morning for this conversation. Besides, in front of her overbearing sister and unsuspecting aunt certainly wasn't the place either.

"Anything else? A number two pencil?" Jenna's gaze switched between the sisters questioningly.

"Calm down aunt Jenna, we have everything we need" Elena tried to calm her down. She was aware of her aunts plight, had an idea how hard this had to be for her and tried to do her best to make it easier to the woman. She was grateful to have her.

The alternative was too horrible to contemplate. She herself was too young to care for her siblings so they would have had to live with strangers or apart and with strangers, if not for Jenna. Elena shuddered at the mere thought of that. No, they got the best deal possible with Jenna, under the circumstances. After all, nothing was lucky about their circumstances.

Lilly's eyes went to the calendar next to the fridge. "Don't you have an appointment this morning?" she questioned her aunt when her eyes landed on today's entry.

Jenna's head whipped around to the clock. "I'm meeting with my thesis adviser at...now. Crap!" And with that she rushed out of the door leaving the siblings alone.

Lilly chuckled lightly as she sipped on her coffee, her spirits slowly waking up.

Elena watched Jeremy skeptically and Lilly already knew what was coming. She would try to mother him and make him angry in the process.

Right on cue the older girl spoke up. "You okay?" she questioned the boy who rolled his eyes at her. "Don't start." He pulled Lilly close again to hug her tightly. "See you later, sis." Being several inches taller than her he easily placed a kiss on the top of her head before making his way out to get away from his eldest sister.

Elena watched him leave with deep frown lines on her forehead. Eventually she sighed deeply and turned towards the younger girl, no doubt to ask the same question. Offering her a smile Lilly beat her to it. "I'm fine, 'Lena, don't worry." Elena smiled in return, but before she could respond they heard a honk outside and they both grabbed their bags, knowing that it was Bonnie who would give them a ride to school. Lilly took a huge gulp of coffee, not prepared to waste any of the delicious brew, before she hurried after her sister.

They got in the car after greeting Bonnie. Elena in the front and Lilly in the back behind her. Back there she could just daydream and ignore most of the conversation while still not fully awake. Bonnie and Elena were used to their companion being silent in the mornings and didn't try to engage her.

"So my Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all. Crazy, I know, but she's going on and on about it and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

Lilly watched the passing scenery only half listening to Bonnie rambling on and on about her summer and her grandmother's recent bout of delusion.

Sheila Bennett, Bonnie's grandmother, was a lovely old lady. As kids they all had enjoyed her company especially during the summers when she would allow them to turn her garden into some kind of water fun park with lawn sprinklers and a kiddy pool, where they would play until exhaustion forced them to rest.

When that happened Sheila had always been waiting with home-made sweet iced tea and freshly baked cornbread to nurse them back to energy for a second round in the garden.

She'd also always been an endless source of herbal remedies for all sorts of ailments, be it a rash from some unknown plant or an itching sting from the various creepy crawlies.

But the older she got the more she seemed to enjoy the gin. When she got drunk she would regal the kids with fantastical stories about monsters and magic.

Lilly didn't mind, it was entertaining, but she knew Bonnie was embarrassed especially since Sheila seemed to really believe in all the supernatural nonsense she talked about.

When the kids grew up their visits became less frequent and Lilly actually had to think about when she had last seen the old lady. It must have been months.

Bonnie stopped talking when she noticed that not only Lilly wasn't really listening, which was expected. Elena also was staring out of the window with a far-away look on her face.

"Elena! Back in the car?" She demanded jokingly.

Elena's head snapped around. "I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry, I was miles away. You were saying that...?"

"That I'm psychic now" Bonnie repeated proudly and Lilly giggled. Bonnie was Elena's best friend, but her and Lilly were very close too, as with all of Elena's friends. They were a really tight knit group even though Lilly had her own group of friends she hung out with including her best friend, Tyler Lockwood, who wasn't as close to the rest of them, except maybe for Matt, Elena's ex boyfriend.

Matt and Elena had broken up recently. Partly because after their parent's death. Elena had needed distance.

Lilly had also withdrawn from her friends. She didn't hang out with the girls from her gymnastics team anymore and rarely went out. Only Tyler still got through to her and, along with Jeremy, had been a real help. He wasn't fazed by the mood swings she got regularly in the weeks after the accident. He was simply there for her and seemed to sense what she needed. Whether she needed a shoulder to lean on or some fun, mindless distraction, he provided it. Not usually one for tears, like most guys, he didn't seem to mind with Lilly and patiently held her for hours when she couldn't keep it in anymore and cried on his shoulder.

Lilly was brought out of her reverie when she heard Elena respond to Bonnie's statement. "Right" she agreed. "Predict something about me. And about Lilly."

Intrigued Lilly focused in on the conversation again. She didn't necessarily believe in premonitions or fortune telling, but figured it would be interesting, at least.

Bonnie was about to answer when suddenly something hit the windshield with force causing the car to swerve and Bonnie hit the brakes hard to bring the car to a sudden stop. Instantly images of the accident that killed their parents flooded Lilly's mind and her breath became rapid along with her racing pulse.

"What was that?! Oh my god! Elena, Lilly, I'm so sorry!" Bonnie cried turning around to the sisters apologizing frantically. "It was a bird or something. It came out of nowhere!"

Lilly could only stare wide eyed. She wasn't here in the present anymore. Her breathe came in harsh, fast pants, on the verge of hyperventilating. She felt the car plummeting down towards the river, the violent jerk and biting pain from the seat-belt cutting into her shoulder when it hit the water's surface and she expected to feel the icy waters closing in on her any moment. She subconsciously tried to pump as much air as possible into her lungs for the inevitable loss of her ability to breathe which was sure to follow.

She had relived the accident in her dreams often enough to know exactly what to expect, though it never lost it's horror. It didn't keep her from feeling the same overwhelming, all-consuming terror she had that night.

Elena, who no doubt relived the crash in her mind as well, recovered faster.

"It's okay. I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life. Neither can Lilly" she reassured her friend. "We are fine. Right, Lilly?" She reached back to run a hand over her sister's leg comfortingly.

The touch jolted Lilly back to reality and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it to stop the panic attack.

"Yea right, we are fine, Bonnie" she panted. "Elena's right." She forced the words out for the sake of her friend. She was clearly anything but fine. It wasn't Bonnie's fault though and she didn't want her friend to worry or feel any more guilty than she already did. She couldn't blame the girl for something that was out of her control so she folded her hands in her lap to hide the shaking and plastered a smile on her face. "What about that prediction?"

Bonnie noticed how bad the younger girl was shaking and that breathing evenly seemed to be an effort, but she was relieved to hear the words and nodded eagerly. "Right, right." She put the car back in drive to take them the short distance to school. "I predict this year is going to be kick ass" She announced. "All the sad and dark times are over and you both are going to be beyond happy."

Lilly's forced smile turned into a real one at her friend's kind words. Bonnie really was a good friend and somehow always seemed to find the right words to make a bad situation bearable. It was a gift Lilly cherished.

By the time the car rolled into the parking lot she had her emotions under control again and was back to her usual self. As soon as the car stopped she jumped out and ran to the other side to hug Bonnie. "Thank you, Bonnie! And I know you will be happy too!" She squeezed tightly before she released her and turned around. "I have to find Tyler. See you later!" With that she skipped away towards the school oblivious to the stares of her sister and friend. The two older girls looked at each other with wide grins and shaking heads, both glad she bounced back from the shock so quickly. Lilly was a happy and lively person by nature and nobody liked to see her scared or sad.

Lilly made her way through the already crowded hallways looking for her best friend. She had to stop every so often to greet people, hear about their summer and reassure them that she was indeed fine. She had many friends and in a small town like Mystic Falls there wasn't anyone who hadn't heard about the accident that cost the Gilbert siblings their parents. Many students had been away on vacation over the summer break and hadn't seen the girl for a while, so they were curious to hear how she was doing.

Finally she made it to the lockers where Tyler stood with his friends. With a happy squeal she launched herself into his arms. "There you are!"

Luckily Tyler was used to her antics and being a muscular jock towering over her small frame he caught her easily and lifted her up. "Hey Lils, how are you doing?" He smiled at her with adoration as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. Growing serious he added "You know, we can just skip today, go to my place and watch movies."

She shook her head with a light giggle. "That sounds great, but I'm fine, really Ty."

He gave her a look clearly indicating that he didn't believe her, but pressed a kiss to her cheek and set her down without pressing the matter. She appreciated the notion and knew she could take him up on the offer any time. For now though she really was fine and didn't need the out. She knew he would be there for her when and if she needed him.

His friends, mostly teammates from his football team, grinned at her as she turned around to give them a small wave. The affectionate behavior of these two wasn't new to them.

Tyler and Lilly could easily be mistaken for a couple. Whenever they were seen together they would hold hands, she would sit in his lap or his arm was around her shoulders, but in reality they were just extremely close friends. She thought of Tyler as a big brother. The mere idea of dating him or doing anything romantic with him was revolting. For the both of them. Tyler saw her as his little sister, too. To him she was someone to protect and care for, never a potential conquest. It had been like this as long as they could remember.

"Have you seen Vicky today?" He questioned and Lilly's smile slightly faltered as she shook her head. Vicky had been a sore subject lately. Her and Tyler got together near the end of this summer and while Lilly was fine with that, she also knew that her twin was in love with the girl. Tyler deserved to be happy, but so did her brother. She didn't like seeing either one suffer.

Noticing her expression Tyler pulled her close again. "Let me walk you to class first, then I'll go looking for her." Neither one would press the issue, especially not in front of others. They were both determined not to let it get between them.

So she waved goodbye to his friends and allowed him to lead her to her classroom where he pressed another kiss to her temple and disappeared in search of his girlfriend.

Lilly walked into her history class, dropped her book bag at her table and walked over to her classmates to hear about their summer. Even though she was a year younger than her sister they shared a lot of classes. Lilly was quite smart and she loved learning. She wasn't a nerd or teacher's pet by any means, but studying came easy to her and so she had already completed most courses in her grade and moved up.

Technically she had almost enough credits to graduate early, but she had been in grief and not done any studying over the summer break. With a little effort she might still be able to pull it off, but she'd lost the energy. She didn't see the point anymore.

Her parents wouldn't be there to be proud of her and praise her achievements. Without their guidance an early graduation seemed more creepy than like something to strive for. It had seemed a good idea with them around, not so much now. What would she do? Go away to college on her own, without any help and without her twin? Certainly not an appealing idea.

Staying close to her friends was another reason to hold her back. If she kept going like she had last year she wouldn't be able to share classes with her friends, so she'd decided to take it slow this year.

Shortly after she settled down in her seat in the back of the room near the windows, Elena came in. She was talking to a handsome guy Lilly had never seen before. He had to be new. They were deep in conversation and didn't notice being observed by not only Lilly but nearly the entire class. A new student was something of an oddity by itself in their small town and a good looking guy like this one was sure to draw attention, especially if he was getting close to one of the town's sweethearts on his first day.

Elena had always been popular. Not only in school, where she was part of the popular crowd by definition as a cheerleader, but in the whole town. Founding families were still a big deal here even over a century after the actual event. They were practically treated like royalty. Being part of this elusive circle meant that pretty much everyone knew her.

In addition to that fact she actively took part in all the events. Be it charity galas, dances or festivities, Elena had an active part in every single one. That won her a lot of favors and was enough to have the townspeople interested in her life. After the accident that only increased and people fell over themselves to make their sympathy be known or help were possible.

Jeremy and Lilly weren't as active a part in the town's society, but they were included by association.

None of the siblings took much notice to this. They were all used to being treated kindly and with a little extra attention. They didn't abuse it or revel in it. It was just how things were in Mystic Falls.

Studying the new guy and her sister Lilly noticed that Elena looked happier than she had during the past months. She'd broken up with Matt not too long ago. There had been tension between the two for a while.

They had been close ever since childhood and nobody was surprised when they made their relationship official. They worked well together. Matt was a good guy and treated Elena like a delicate flower.

It worked for a while but then the cracks started to appear, slowly at first. They wanted different things. Matt saw Elena as his forever and could hardly wait to start their future, their family, as soon as possible. Elena wanted a family of her own too, but she wasn't in a rush to get started. She wanted to be young and carefree for a while first. Unlike Matt she already had it all, a happy family with loving parents. Although this was her endgame too, she wanted to experience life to the fullest first.

The details of the night of the accident were a bit hazy to Lilly still. All she knew was that Elena and Matt had a huge row about that exact thing. After that night things between them only got worse and Elena wasn't the same person anymore. The break-up was inevitable.

Although Lilly liked Matt she wasn't opposed to her sister finding someone else. As long as the boy treated her well and made her happy, Lilly was fine with it and this new guy seemed to be just as entranced with Elena as she was with him. Lilly gave a mental shrug. She could see it. Time would tell how this played out.

Before Lilly could dive deeper into her musings about her sister and the new guy the teacher appeared to start the first class of the school year. Mr. Tanner, their history teacher, was an ass. There was no other way to describe him. He enjoyed humiliating students and preyed on their weaknesses. Not even Lilly was immune to his questionable methods despite being a good student with flawless grades. If there was a weakness he honed in on it. He could sense your insecurities like a shark sensed blood and he never left an opportunity to expose them.

Usually not one to hold grudges, Lilly made an exception for him. She hated him. Mostly for her classmate's sake, more than her own. It happened, but he rarely got the jump on her. She was always prepared and she knew the material well, usually had studied it ahead of time. Her classmates were not so lucky and Mr Tanner wasn't above playing dirty. If he wanted you to fail he would find a way. There wasn't a student, including Lilly, who hadn't been on the receiving end of his sadistic methods at least once and she despised him for it.

Not one to give him the opportunity to humiliate her, Lilly had to concentrate during his lesson and didn't get the chance to study the blossoming relationship between her sister and the new guy.

The rest of the school day passed without any memorable incidents. With most teachers not doing much more than passing out the course syllabus the day dragged on and Lilly was relieved when it was finally over.

Tyler's offer to watch movies with her at his place still stood and they spent the afternoon doing just that, since neither of them had any homework for the next day yet.

After an afternoon of laughter over silly lines and bad acting Tyler drove them to the grill for dinner.

Elena and her friends were already there, sitting in their usual booth not far from the pool table. The only difference was the new guy being there with them, sitting next to Elena.

Tyler and Lilly first went to see Vicky who was serving tonight and greeted her boyfriends younger friend warmly.

Lilly liked Vicky. She really did. The girl had her flaws, but she wasn't a bad person. Lilly could see the appeal she held for both Tyler and Jeremy. Vicky was a very attractive girl with her long locks and soulful eyes and she knew how to have a good time.

During the summer when Jeremy and Vicky grew closer, they had sometimes taken Lilly along for the tamer, drug-free activities and they had a lot of fun together.

The only issue Lilly had with the older girl was that she felt she strung her brother along. The twins were fiercely protective of each other and Vicky's treatment of her brother didn't sit well with Lilly. She also wasn't quite so sure about Tyler's feelings. She loved the boy, but she wasn't oblivious to his treatment of his frequent conquests. Tyler was a player and not nearly as serious about their relationship as Vicky was. To him it was more of a game and Lilly couldn't help but think that Jeremy would be the better option.

Of course she was biased. Her twin would always come up better no matter who she compared him with, even her best friend couldn't measure up.

It wasn't her business though and when Tyler located his buddies near the pool table she decided to go sit with her sister and her friends instead.

Vicky was asked to bring her food to their booth instead and after thanking Tyler for the afternoon and hugging him goodbye, Lilly made her way over there.

"Hey guys" she chirped happily and they all smiled and greeted her as they made room for her to sit with them at their table.

The new guy watched the exchange silently and once Lilly was situated she reached her hand out across the table for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Lillian Gilbert."

"Stefan Salvatore" he introduced himself as he shook her hand and Lilly positively beamed at him.

"Salvatore as in the founding family?" she questioned enthusiastically. "As in Zach Salvatore?" She was nearly bouncing out of her seat in excitement.

While her friends watched on in fond amusement – they were used to her antics – Stefan merely lifted a brow in surprise. Apparently he wasn't one for showing emotion much. "That's correct" he confirmed. "I take it you know my uncle Zach?"

Lilly nodded eagerly, barely able to contain herself. "Zach and I are friends. It's so great you are here! That house is so big and Zach is living there all on his own. I was worried about him, you know. Now that you're here he isn't always so alone anymore!"

She probably would have kept on rambling if not for Vicky who showed up just then with her food order. So being really hungry she stuffed some fries in her mouth instead, completely forgoing any sense of propriety or manners.

She hadn't been lying. Zach Salvatore and her had grown close over the last year. Lilly had come across him during one of the founders' events. She'd always known Zach or rather been aware of his existence. He was a descendant of the original founders like herself and thus attended all the same events, but they'd never talked. Zach was a loner, never close to anyone and always just on the edge of things.

Lilly had been curious about him for a while and one evening she had found the courage to approach him. They got to talking about history of the town and in general which let to a discussion about literature and they found out that they had a lot in common despite the age difference.

Finally Zach had offered Lilly access to the boarding house's extensive library which was an opportunity she couldn't pass up on.

Since then they'd only gotten closer and Lilly, having seen how lonely he lived, had taken it upon herself to get him more included into town's society.

Her friends knew about the budding relationship and were used to Lilly's enthusiasm, so they didn't comment and Stefan, though clearly curious about the girl's relationship to his distant nephew, only smiled kindly at her explanation.

He might have wanted to ask her about it, but Caroline wouldn't have it. "So, we were talking about the party at the falls tomorrow" she interrupted to bring the topic of conversation back to more important – in her eyes, anyways – issues and Stefan was forced to refocus his attention. "Are you going, Lilly?" Caroline asked in an effort to include the younger girl into the conversation. She might be rather single-minded, but was nothing if not polite.

Easily distracted Lilly nodded at the blonde. "Yeah I guess. Tyler is picking us up, me and Vicky, so we can go together." That caused smiles and approving nods all around. While Lilly was younger they still all enjoyed having her around. She knew how to have a good time and her happy demeanor was contagious. They knew she could be the life of a party, always dancing, laughing and having fun with everyone.

The only one at the table not happy about this announcement was Elena and she made it quite obvious with a disapproving glare and a shake of her head. Lilly only furrowed her brows at her sister's sour expression. She didn't appreciate the notion. Sure, Lilly was younger and wanting to protect her was natural, but Elena herself went to parties at Lilly's age and Lilly hardly ever drank, which Elena knew.

There was no reason for the attitude. Except maybe for Elena's need to mother her siblings and regulate their life. Luckily Elena didn't get the chance to lecture her younger sister as the friends chatted excitedly about the party arrangements.

Soon after Tyler's waving caught Lilly's attention. He was at the pool table with Matt and gestured for her to come over, so she excused herself. "It was really nice meeting you, Stefan. I'm sure I'll see you around" she politely said before skipping away with a wave. "Bye guys!"

"Hey Lils!" She was greeted when she arrived at the pool table.

"Hey Mattie!"she hugged the boy. "I take it you need me as your good luck charm, Ty?"

This had been a joke between them for quite a while. Tyler always seemed to have better luck with her around. A mere coincidence, but they both liked to play it up.

Tyler grinned at her, but Matt was watching Stefan and Elena with a forlorn expression. "Oh Mattie," Lilly noticed and threw her arms around him in a comforting hug. "Don't look so sad. You will find the one, I'm sure. It just isn't Elena." She released him, but didn't pull away, instead she rubbed his arms. "Don't lose a good friendship with her over this. If she can move on, so can you."

Matt returned the hug but still looked haunted. "I know, Lilly, it's just hard." His solemn expression tugged on her heartstrings. She really liked Matt. "Thank you though."

With that he ruffled her hair and pulled away to grab a pool stick.

Lilly crunched up her nose in protest of the gesture, then clapped her hands as she jumped up and faced Tyler. "So, I'm here. Let's play. Show him who's boss, Ty!"

They spent another hour at the grill together. The boys played and Lilly cheered them on, naturally taking Tyler's side for most of the game. They talked, and laughed, joked and had fun together. When it eventually got late for a school night they said their goodbyes and Tyler took Lilly home.


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler along with Vicky had picked Lilly up for the back-to-school party at the falls the next evening as promised. They had been dancing and now Tyler had gone to get drinks for them. There had been tension between them, mostly between the girls. Lilly had always gotten along great with Vicky, but that had been in Jeremy's company. Being here with her and Tyler was slightly awkward.

Vicky seemed to be feeling uneasy as well and used Tyler's absence to address the issue.

"Look, Lilly, I like Tyler, a lot" she hesitatingly began. "I'm sorry it's not your brother but you like Tyler too and I really want this to work."

She'd blurted the last part out quickly in a jumble of words and it took Lilly a moment to sort through the mess.

Lilly had stopped dancing when she noticed Vicky working up the courage to confront her. They had walked away from the fire and now stood to the side, far enough away from others that the loud music would protect them from prying ears.

"I get it Vicky, I do" she said with a sigh. "And I don't blame you for falling for Ty. I mean, what's not to love." The last part was added with a wry grin in an attempt to lighten the mood, but it fell flat. The issue was too serious for both girls.

"I just wish you wouldn't hurt Jer." Her hand went into her curls and tugged on the strands, a nervous habit that always came out when she was uncomfortable with a situation. "He's serious about you... and Ty...I just don't...maybe..." She huffed, annoyed that she couldn't find the words to express the problem.

It wasn't her intention to bad-mouth Tyler, she'd never do that to him, but Vicky had to know he might not be as committed as she was. "Look, this is weird. Just remember Ty isn't the relationship type. You might get disappointed."

Vicky hadn't tried to interrupt her stuttering and looked a little doubtful herself Lilly thought.

The doubt was soon replaced by determination though. "Who knows, he might just settle in time. I have to try." She looked at the younger girl beseechingly and even though Lilly couldn't see the relationship going anywhere she just didn't have it in her to burst the bubble.

"I understand" she replied softly and might have said more if Tyler hadn't chosen this moment to return with their drinks, oblivious to the seriousness of the conversation.

He toasted them and after sharing a look of understanding the girls both let the issue drop. It wasn't exactly resolved, but the atmosphere was less tense after they both got to speak their mind. It would do for now.

Lilly wasn't in the mood for dancing anymore at the moment so she excused herself to give the couple some space. She wandered around the edges of the party for a while contemplating the conversation she just had with Vicky.

She knew for a fact that Tyler wouldn't settle down with Vicky. She wanted determination and the whole works. He was a player through and through and liked being free to choose differently from day to day.

He also didn't have any patience for what he labeled "girly issues". He didn't put up with mood swings and certainly wasn't the romantic type. He despised mushy feelings. He would never comfort an upset girl. If he saw tears he'd run the other way.

Lilly was the sole exception to that rule, but there also was nothing romantic between them. Their love for each other was strictly platonic so an entirely different set of rules applied to them. It probably helped that Lilly didn't expect anything from him either. They could be themselves with each other without having to pretend or impress.

There was also the issue of Tyler's parents. He would never admit to it, but their opinion meant something to him. His entire life he had to fight for their attention and more importantly their approval. Richard, his father, was choleric and almost impossible to please. He always demanded the best from everyone, including his son. If he praised you it was nothing short of a miracle and Tyler strived for those rare moments even though he hated that he did.

His mother, Carol, was mostly absent. Emotionally at least. She was unhappy with her life and her relationship and tried to cover it up with outward perfection and too much alcohol.

Both Lockwoods would throw a fit if Tyler went steady with Vicky Donovan. Carol probably more so than Richard. Status meant a lot to them both and Carol turned elitism into an art form. She was very proud of being the mayor's wife and everyone who wasn't from a founding family was beneath her. She could deal with it if the person was at least rich or important, but turned her nose up at average people. Those certainly weren't good enough for her son. Vicky she would probably perceive even lower than average what with the absentee father and loose-moraled mother.

It was very snobbish and pretentious and that was one reason why Lilly didn't like the Lockwoods - Tyler excluded, of course - despite Carol falling over herself to make her feel welcome and part of the family and even Richard treating her overly kindly.

Tyler didn't share his parent's sentiments, but their opinion did count. So Vicky wasn't going to be a fixture in his life. He would ignore his parent's misgivings if he felt strongly enough for the girl though. Lilly doubted that was the case with Vicky.

Coming across Bonnie and Elena who were making their way closer to the fire, Lilly pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind and approached them.

Bonnie welcomed her warmly with a hug, but Elena only looked at her and shook her head disapprovingly. She didn't approve of her sister being at the party and made it quite obvious.

Lilly gritted her teeth, determined not to let that bring her down. She would not get into it with her sister in public.

The tension was palpable. Thankfully Bonnie caught on quickly and changed the topic.

"Lilly, help me out here. Elena won't admit that Stefan is gorgeous."

Grateful for the intervention said girl turned towards her sister with a grin. "Seriously 'Lena? You can't see it?" she questioned in mock shock. "Maybe we should get your eyes checked, because I can." And she could. She might not be interested in Stefan herself – she hardly was interested in any boy these days – but she did notice that he was exceptionally handsome. He was well build with a perfect height. Not so big that he towered over a girl, but also not so short that the girl had to wear flats all the time. His body was strong without the bulging muscles that often looked too copious. He dressed and styled his hair fashionably and his eyes spoke of an intellect that allowed for interesting conversations.

Lilly blushed a little when she realized that she'd discerned all this in a guy she barely knew nor particularly cared for. Neither Bonnie nor Elena seemed to notice though. The latter rolled her eyes at her sister's dramatics before giving in. "Okay okay, he is a little pretty."

Bonnie and Lilly shared a victorious grin and continued to interrogate the brunette about her feelings for the new guy. Until eventually Lilly noticed that the boy in question wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Where is Stefan anyways?" she questioned still looking around and trying to locate him in the crowd. "Didn't you say he was coming to the party?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Bonnie? She is the psychic one" her sister answered defensively and in a snippy tone.

That attitude alone was enough to tell Lilly that her sister was more than a little interested in Stefan. She wouldn't usually have reacted this way. She was defensive because she wanted Stefan to show up and also needed to protect herself from disappointment if he didn't. The snippiness was a defense reaction to try and keep others from seeing right through her.

Well, it did the opposite in Lilly's case.

Bonnie however perked up at the off-handed comment. "Right, I forgot. Give me a sec." She closed her eyes and schooled her featured into a falsely neutral expression. "Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Uh-uh, wait!" Lilly interrupted. This was far more fun than analyzing her sister's feelings. "You need a crystal ball!"

She looked around to find something for Bonnie to use, but it was Elena who grabbed an empty beer bottle from a nearby table. She obviously was into it, too, or at least appreciated the distraction.

Elena handed the bottle over to Bonnie who reached out to grab it and...froze as soon as the tips of her fingers touched the glass. Her expression went completely blank, gone were all traces of amusement, and she gasped.

The sisters shared a concerned look.

"Bonnie, what is it?" Elena questioned worriedly while Lilly put a hand on her friends shoulder. To reassure or to snap her out of whatever this was, she didn't know.

Bonnie's eyes snapped open again. "That was really weird!" she exclaimed as the bottle clattered to the floor, but none of the girls paid it any mind. They were to worried for their friend to mind some broken glass and Bonnie herself didn't even seem to notice.

"When I touched the bottle I saw a crow..." she explained with wide, confused eyes.

The sisters exchanged another worried look. "What?" they asked in unison.

It didn't make sense to either girl, but Elena seemed a little more freaked out than the situation warranted. What was that about? Had something happened? Did Bonnie's vision mean anything to her?

Before Lilly could contemplate that thought Bonnie continued. "A crow and there was fog...a man..." she trailed off and shook her head as if trying to get rid of the images. "I'm drunk" she concluded. "There is nothing psychic about it. It's the drinking."

That being said Bonnie abruptly turned around and walked away. Leaving a confused Elena and Lilly staring at each other. Neither one had a clue what this behavior was about, it was very un-Bonnie-like to walk away from a conversation like this. Especially when someone was worried about her. Usually she would have made an effort to reassure her friends. Even when she wasn't fine. Her not doing at least that was a clear sign for her friends that there was something very wrong.

Before either one of the sisters could react a voice sounded from behind them, startling them both. It was Stefan who gave Lilly an acknowledging nod and smiled fondly at Elena.

"I did it again, didn't I? He asked the older girl who seemed to catch on immediately and smiled in response.

Lilly was confused by both his words and his sudden appearance. He showed up out of nowhere like he had been summoned! She realized she was staring and made an effort to snap out of it and not show her confusion.

"Right, hi Stefan" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. It wasn't much with her still worrying about Bonnie, but Stefan didn't know her well enough and didn't notice and Elena was too busy swooning.

The two were staring at each other, neither one really noticing Lilly anymore, though Stefan seemed at least aware enough to exchange pleasantries. Lilly shook her head. She was irritated. Not so much by Stefan's dismissal, she was fine with that, but mostly by Elena's behavior. She could see the appeal and she understood, she really did, but their friend, Elena's best friend, had just had some sort of break-down and that had to be more important than some boy, no matter how pretty his eyes, right?

When Elena didn't give any indication of snapping out of it anytime soon, Lilly huffed exasperatedly.

"I'm gonna go look for Bonnie" she mumbled more than said. It didn't seem like either one of the two would listen anyways.

Lilly didn't begrudge Elena her happiness. She was glad the older girl found something, or rather someone, to make her smile again. Only she thought that her lifelong friend should take precedence over a recent love interest.

She looked around for the dark-skinned girl but didn't see her. Grumbling she pushed through the crowd on her search. With Elena's help this would have been much easier. And maybe that was part of the reason for her bad mood and her mumbling angrily to herself. She didn't feel like looking for Bonnie on her own, she didn't feel like doing anything on her own.

Where was Jeremy? Where was Tyler? Where was anyone when she needed them? She could barely keep herself from stamping her foot in anger. On some level she knew she was behaving irrational and childish, but mostly she felt abandoned and lost.

She hadn't been on her own much since the accident. There had always been Jeremy and Tyler filled the gaps. Neither boy liked to leave her alone, but mostly she hadn't had to face a problem alone in a while. That was the main issue. No shoulder to lean on, no brain to bounce ideas with, just her and the problem.

With effort Lilly reminded herself that this wasn't just some problem. This was her friend who was probably feeling even more lost and alone right now than she did. She had to find Bonnie. Her own feelings had to be addressed at a later date.

New determination found after a short but effective internal pep talk, Lilly pushed her way through the crowd until she finally located Bonnie in a corner near the river. She was leaning on the railing separating them from the raging waters. This close to the falls the water was rather torrential and certainly dangerous if you fell in, especially intoxicated.

Lilly allowed the view of the rough but steady waters to calm her own chaotic emotions down before she approached Bonnie. The girl had enough on her plate without Lilly adding to it with her own problems. Those could wait.

When Lilly finally calmed down enough to approach Bonnie and touched her shoulder to turn her around, the girl looked desperate. "I know it's weird, but I swear I saw that when I touched the bottle..." she began justifying her actions, but Lilly didn't allow her to continue.

She pulled her friend into a hug, rubbing her back and arm in a soothing manner. "I believe you. It's okay" she reassured.

Lilly wasn't sure if she really did believe in visions or that Bonnie had one. Those things could be faked, but Bonnie's reaction hadn't been faked. She really was scared, that was real. Bonnie really had seen something and it scared her enough to flee from her friends. Whether this was a fluke or something real was to be seen. That wasn't important now.

Important now was comforting Bonnie and that was easier said than done because her next words sent chills down Lilly's back. "That's not the worst part yet. With the images I also got a feeling" she continued in Lilly's arms. "It felt like...it's just the beginning."

Lilly took a step back, still with her hands on Bonnie's arms. The two girls stared at each other with equally scared and confused expressions. Questions were racing through Lilly's mind and she desperately tried to sort them, filter out the important ones and drop the rest, for now.

This issue was confusing enough without her firing unfiltered nonsense at her friend. She had to concentrate.

Even though she was scared, Lilly wanted to get to the bottom of this, needed to find a rational explanation somewhere.

She didn't get to even attempt doing so.

Before Lilly could issue a single question, her siblings burst into the clearing where the party was held, not far from Bonnie and Lilly. Elena was shouting for help and Jeremy carried a seemingly unconscious Vicky in his arms.

All partying ceased immediately and someone even had the good sense to turn the music off.

Vicky was bleeding from a vicious wound on her neck, Lilly saw when Jeremy gently laid her down on an empty table, before the crowd closed in and blocked her view.

Both Tyler and Matt rushed to the injured girl shouting for people to back away and give her space. Both pushed through the gathering crowd easily and neither one cared for the people they pushed away to get their way.

Lilly's mind was reeling while around her chaos erupted. People who'd previously been dancing and laughing now shouted or cried. Some at least had the presence of mind to call for help. Lilly saw several people with phones pressed to their ears.

At least those people were doing something useful. Lilly felt frozen. Her mind refused to accept what her eyes had seen. She had seen the wound on Vicky's neck, she had been close enough. She would have sworn it was a snake's bite, there were two distinct puncture wounds. Just it was bleeding too much and the punctures were too wide for a snake. What kind of animal did this?

She felt herself moving without conscious thought. Her feet moved her through the crowd without her mind actively commanding them to. She didn't care, she didn't care about the people she roughly pushed out of her way either. Her goal was Jeremy. She didn't need a working brain to know she had to get to him.

Jeremy!

Jeremy was on the verge of a panic attack when Lilly finally made it to him and wrapped her arms around him. Her movements still felt mechanical, the shock she absently guessed, but at least she was were she belonged.

It felt like hours until an ambulance arrived. Lilly just held onto Jeremy and he held onto her. Tears were streaming down his face and when her own lips caught a wet drop Lilly noticed she was crying, too. She didn't really know what for, probably Jeremy's pain.

There was nothing either one of them could do for Vicky right now.

After an eternity the paramedics finally took over. In reality it hadn't been more than a few minutes.

Lilly's tears dried while Vicky was taken care of by the professionals and eventually was taken away to the hospital. Jeremy held onto her like she was his lifeline and she wouldn't let go of him if her life was threatened. He was silently sobbing with his face hidden in the crook of her neck. She felt the tremors of his body and the wetness seeping through her shirt.

At some point she had begun mumbling soothing words into his ear. She couldn't tell when, maybe right from the start. It wasn't a conscious decision, just a natural reaction to her twin being in distress.

She kept holding on and whispering sweet nothings even when Elena came to tell them that Jenna had arrived and would be taking them home. Getting into the car like this was awkward, but they managed.

Jeremy had a vice-like grip on her when they got home, but even if he didn't Lilly would have refused to let go. She wouldn't leave her twin while he was suffering. It wasn't physically possible, she didn't think.

Holding tightly onto each other they got into bed together. Sobbing and whispering till sleep eventually took over.

The next morning Lilly woke up to Jeremy still holding onto her and wrapped around her like a vine. Very carefully she untangled herself from his embrace and got up to stretch her stiff limbs.

Locking herself in the bathroom she got rid of yesterday's clothing and took a much needed shower.

When she got out of her room – ready and dressed for the day- she went to check on her brother. Not surprisingly he wasn't there anymore and she just knew he'd already left the house.

He'd always been quicker than her, but today he had to have broken a new record.

When she walked downstairs she found Jenna and Elena laughing. She had to clamp down on the irritation that flared up at that sight.

Jeremy was in pain and they were laughing? Jenna might not understand, she wasn't around as much, earlier when things were still good. But Elena...Elena knew. She had to. Why was she having fun?

"Hey" she greeted with the barely repressed remnants of her anger. "What's so funny?"

Maybe it was her usual morning grumpiness that kept her from feeling the humor. It was possible, Lilly couldn't be sure.

Therefore she did her best to keep calm when she heard the response.

"We were discussing my outfit for Jeremy's parent-teacher conference today" Jenna explained good-naturedly.

Lilly bit the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste the blood. Jenna's outfit? Someone Jeremy cared about almost died last night and they were discussing fashion?

Pure, unadulterated rage cursed through Lilly's veins now and she had a hard time not yelling and throwing things. She made her way to the coffee machine and filled a cup to give her hands something to do. Something other than strangling her aunt and sister. "Where did Jer go?" she asked, just to say something, although she had a good idea where he was.

Neither of the two women reacted in any way to her clipped tone. Whether that was because Lilly usually wasn't in a good mood this early in the morning or because they didn't care, the girl didn't even try to figure out.

"Jeremy left early" Jenna announced seemingly without a care in the world. "Something about getting to the wood shop to finish a birdhouse."

Lilly almost dropped the coffee pot at that and she did spill some coffee from her cup when she whirled around to stare at her aunt with a blank expression.

Elena's expression turned sour, disapproval clear on her face and Lilly had to turn back around and concentrate on cleaning up her mess with a kitchen rag to keep from throwing the hot beverage in her sister's face.

Jenna finally caught on, probably noticing something weird in the girls' reactions.

"There is no wood shop, is there?" she realized.

"Nope" Elena confirmed.

She most likely would have launched into some kind of lecture about Jeremy dismissing his duties or some such nonsense, but to Lilly's intense relieve a honk sounded from outside, announcing Bonnie's arrival.

Elena grabbed her bag and moved to the door, turning around with a questioning expression when Lilly didn't follow as expected.

"I think I'll walk today" said girl merely explained. "I need some fresh air."

"But it's late already!" Elena exclaimed with that certain motherly undertone that told you she didn't take you serious and thought you were acting silly. "You won't make it in ti..."

Lilly, at the end of her rope, rudely interrupted. "I said: I will walk today!" Neither her tone nor expression brooked any argument and Elena, putting it down to morning grumpiness, held her hands up in mock defense and backed out of the house. "Okay okay, you do that."

Elena had a point, it was pretty late already, but it also wasn't that far to school. She could make it in time. And a brisk walk might help settle Lilly's anger.

This behavior wasn't like her, she knew that. She didn't like the feeling of such intense anger either. Early mornings just weren't her thing. She tended to be extra moody after a bad sleep and she'd had that. Jeremy not being there when she got downstairs didn't help either.

Add to that a perceived threat to her twin and you found the recipe for mayhem.

If she looked at this morning's proceedings rationally, Lilly knew she'd overreacted.

Vicky wasn't dead or in a life threatening condition. She would be fine after a few days in hospital. Neither Jenna nor Elena had known where Jeremy went and they didn't get why he took it so hard or even that he did. Making a good impression at this parent-teacher thing probably was important, too.

All things considered Lilly was glad she'd had a tight hold on her emotions and didn't blow her lid. It wouldn't have been fair.

She couldn't help feeling a little whiny though. Jeremy's hugs made school mornings bearable and he hadn't been there. Granted, he had a good reason, but that didn't help her.

At least she had Tyler to look forward to. She needed a hug from someone who got her.

Elena or even Jenna would have been understanding, but that wasn't the same. They wouldn't really have gotten it, gotten her.

The school day dragged on worse than usual. She had been too late to find Tyler when she finally arrived with barely enough time to make it to class and had to wait till lunch break to see him. Jeremy hadn't shown up either, which put her in a bad mood again, because to her it was a clear sign that he wasn't doing well.

When the last class for the day finished she had calmed down considerably and thoroughly regretted this morning's moodiness, but she also was at the end of her patience and extremely grateful she wouldn't have to endure any more lessons today.

So when Bonnie invited her along to the grill she accepted without hesitation. She could use the distraction. It was a beautiful late summer day, not too hot but still warm and sunny, and Elena and Caroline were already seated at a table outside the grill when Bonnie and Lilly joined them.

They had obviously interrupted something intense, because the moment the waitress disappeared after placing down their drink orders, Caroline rounded in on Elena again.

"So let me recap" the blonde started, mostly for Bonnie's benefit who missed the beginning of the conversation. "You just talked all night. No sloppy first kisses?"

Elena nodded with a slight blush and Lilly figured they were talking about Stefan. She'd thought she'd heard his voice last night, but was too occupied with comforting her twin to pay it any mind.

"Not even a hug?" Caroline demanded and Lilly grew uncomfortable with the conversation. A blush made its way to her cheeks. She did not like talking about these things and she liked it even less when her big sister was in the middle of it. There were things that better stayed unsaid between siblings and this was one of them.

To Lilly's intense relieve Elena denied. "Nope, we didn't go there."

Caroline, not one for modesty, pushed on. "Not even a handshake? Elena, we are your friends. You are supposed to share the smut."

Lilly opened her mouth to dispute that statement and announce she was the little sister who definitely wasn't supposed to hear the smut, but Elena beat her again.

"We just talked all night."

Lilly took a breath of relief, only Caroline wasn't done just yet.

"Okay, what's with the blockage? It's easy!" she snapped at Elena. "Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, equals sex. Just jump his bones already!" she exclaimed loudly throwing her hands up in exasperation.

The younger girl stared at her blonde friend wide eyed and shocked at her bluntness. Her cheeks were colored crimson by now and she looked around to make sure nobody had heard them talk.

Elena however wasn't showing any signs of embarrassment now. She merely laughed.

"Profound." And with that she stood up.

Lilly was flustered. All three of the other girls were curious and asked in unison "Where are you going?" Only Lilly's voice was slightly louder and more high pitched than usual.

She almost couldn't believe her ears when she heard Elena's response.

"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day out saying what I was going to do."

Lilly watched in stunned shock as she grabbed her bag. It wasn't like she didn't want her to be with Stefan. Lilly was fine with that. Stefan made Elena happy. She smiled more for knowing him. She seemed more lively since he showed up. As long as Stefan kept doing that for Elena he had Lilly's blessing.

Lilly herself certainly wasn't the poster-child for finding happiness after losing someone important. She'd suffered and still acted out of character, but she hated seeing her siblings suffer. Jeremy took priority, but she didn't want Elena unhappy either and she had been unhappy. Deeply so. She hid it well and tried to set a positive example for her younger siblings, but she failed miserably. The twins could see right through the positive facade.

So if Stefan helped making Elena happy again, Lilly was all for her sister jumping his bones. The relationship had her full support. Only Lilly wasn't used to this blunt version of her sister and she didn't need to know Elena was doing it. That was one mental image she didn't need. At all.

So she was startled when Elena directly addressed her. "Lilly! You wanna come?"

Lilly lost her speaking facilities at that question. Was her motherly, overbearing sister really asking her if she wanted to come along when she planned on getting intimate with her boyfriend?

"I...uh…." was all that came over her lips.

She noticed the amused expressions on her friend's and her sister's faces, so she realized she'd probably misinterpreted the situation, but she still didn't want any part in the confrontation between Stefan and Elena. So spotting a familiar face approaching on the other side of the road was her saving grace.

"I can't! I'm meeting a friend!" The words tumbled out of her mouth with so much obvious relief it caused her to blush a deep red again.

The lifted eyebrows on both Elena's and Caroline's face told her it didn't go unnoticed either. At least Bonnie had enough tact not to….nope, there was a huge grin on Bonnie's face, too.

"Traitor" Lilly grumbled silently, but couldn't really be upset. She was too mortified and really, she maneuvered herself into these waters all by herself.

She got up shaking her head and grabbed her bag. "Bye!"

Under the laughter of her friends and her own giggling she crossed the road while Elena started her journey to the boarding house.

Boy, had that been embarrassing! She had to admit she had been acting silly, too. Not like she'd never talked about sex. Just the idea of her sister and Stefan...ugh. Focus, Lilly!

She hadn't been lying about meeting a friend.. She'd seen Zach Salvatore approach from a distance and really was eager to meet him. She hadn't talked to him in a while. Not since his nephew arrived at the least.

That had been a surprise for her when she learned from Stefan about his relation to Zach.

It was a good surprise though. Zach needed the company. Lilly hadn't been over to the boarding house as much as she wanted and with school starting and training beginning again soon she would find even less time. Knowing he had company eased her conscious a little.

"What's that!? Zach Salvatore gracing us mere mortals with his presence?" Lilly joked when she walked up to Zach. "What a lovely surprise."

"Lilly!" the man exclaimed clearly surprised. The wide smile looked foreign on his face, but clearly showed he was pleased to see his young friend. "I didn't expect to meet you. Aren't you busy catching up with your friends after recess?"

Lilly giggled and hugged him which he returned after a moment's hesitation. He still wasn't used to the affections the girl lavished him with. She didn't care. It was how she treated all her friends, Zach counted as one of those, so he better got used to it.

"Oh Zach! You are my friend too and we haven't met in a while. Just because school started again, doesn't mean I'm forgetting about you" she replied earnestly. "WE have to catch up, too."

Zach laughed and released her from the hug. "I know, I know, that's not what I meant. Though I do think you should spent your time with people your age rather than plain old me." He smiled fondly at the girl, though there was a serious note to his speech. He wasn't good company for a young girl. Certainly not one as lively as Lilly.

They'd had this very conversation before and Lilly wouldn't budge then, nor would she now.

"You are not plain and I enjoy spending time with you" she rebutted like she always did. "Don't you worry though. I do spend time with my other friends. In fact I just had coffee with classmates."

Her voice lost the teasing undertones then, though the smile never left her face. "I met your nephew Stefan the other day and I'm so glad you aren't all alone in that huge dark mansion anymore."

Unnoticed by Lilly Zach paled considerably, the smile her appearance had put on his face dropping.

"Though you could have told me you had family visiting" she reprimanded, playfulness back at full force.

Zach looked a bit guilty, but there was an edge to it. "Uh yea, it was a surprise. I didn't know they were coming."

Lilly frowned. Zach wasn't the happiest person, but the expression didn't fit the occasion even for his standards. And what did he mean, they? Involuntarily one of Lilly's brows lifted in confusion. She only knew about Stefan. Was there someone else? Who? He hadn't mentioned it, neither had Elena. Surely she would have mentioned another relative? Bonnie and Lilly had interrogate her thoroughly the other night.

"But uh...please promise me something, Lillian." Lilly's frown deepened at Zach's gravely tone. He also hadn't used her full name since the day they met. "Please stay away from my nephews as much as possible. Especially Stefan's brother Damon. They are not good company, okay?"

Now Lilly was seriously confused. Damon? Stefan seemed like a nice enough guy. Sure, they hadn't spoken much and he was the broody type, but what could be so bad about a high schooler? Surely Zach didn't think she would fall for some player with a nice guy facade? He should know her better by now.

And she didn't even know Stefan had a brother. Elena and Stefan talked a lot. All night in fact, as she just learned. Elena also talked a lot about Stefan. Why didn't she ever mention a brother?

Despite her bewilderment Lilly nodded. Zach looked too concerned to refuse his request. She didn't want to add to his worries any more than necessary. "Sure, I'll keep my distance" she promised accordingly and Zach looked relieved.

She didn't like lying, but in all honesty she hadn't exchanged more than a handful of words with Stefan. After today's conversation she had no desire to do so either. She mentally shuddered. Some things just belonged in the vault. Her sister's sex life being one and the first of those things. Gross!

As for the mysterious brother...she hadn't even known he existed and she still didn't know more than a name. Was he older or younger?

Older she guessed or she would have seen him in school. A new face was always obvious at Mystic Falls High.

Even less reason to talk to him. She didn't have much contact with older people, except for friend's parents - and Zach, obviously. The promise seemed easy enough to uphold.

Lilly didn't want to push the issue further so she changed the topic to what he had been up to recently. They walked along the streets together for a while and talked a bit longer. He told her about some of his business for the town's council and she regaled him with the latest teenage gossip which he was surprisingly interested in.

She'd skipped over her sister's relationship with Stefan. She had a feeling that wouldn't go over too well and she didn't want to upset him.

When it was time for Lilly to head home she bid Zach goodbye with the promise to visit him soon. He looked like he wanted to object, but Lilly put it down to his natural reserve and didn't give him the chance.

With a hug and a wave she skipped away, leaving Zach with a weird expression on his face. A mixture of fond amusement and serious worry.

The girl meant a lot to him. He hadn't allowed himself to care about anyone in a long time for the very reason of his 'nephews' return. Somehow Lilly had managed to break down all his defenses and worm her way into his heart. It was most unusual, but he seriously cared for the girl and wanted her to be safe and happy.

His 'nephews' presence endangered both states. Stefan, and more so Damon, both had the ability to make her unhappy and very very unsafe.

He sighed and shook his head. There wasn't much he could do about it besides warning her and hoping she would heed his cryptic words. Not much but...there was something. A very unfamiliar grin made its way onto Zach's face and he finished his errant with newfound determination. He had something to do.


	3. Chapter 3

When Lilly arrived home after her talk with Zach she walked right into the middle of an argument between Jenna and Jeremy which ended with Jeremy slamming the door to his room violently and Jenna looking at Elena in desperation.

They hadn't even noticed Lilly until she shut the front door rather loudly.

Jenna seemed truly lost. The poor woman hadn't signed up for this. Providing food and a roof for her sister's kids was one thing, dealing with moody teenagers another. Especially when it was a troubled teenager like Jeremy. That wasn't a problem easily resolved between ordering pizza, juggling lecture schedules and finishing an essay.

Studying Psychology prepared Jenna for a lot and it had even helped her with the kids, but this was out of her comfort zone. She didn't know what to do with Jeremy anymore. Appealing to him with stories of her own past obviously hadn't worked very well and being strict didn't seem to make much of an impression either.

Thank god the other kids didn't act like that. Elena was no trouble at all. She behaved almost too well for a teenager and even helped with keeping the younger siblings in line.

Lilly was easy too. There had been the one issue with her overdoing her training to the point of exhaustion, but after the trainer put a stop to it, that wasn't a problem anymore either.

Jeremy was the only one to cause Jenna serious problems, but those brought her to her limits. His teacher had pointed that out to her today. The teacher was an ass, but he did have a point. Jeremy was out of control and Jenna had no idea how to rein him in. She'd never had to deal with teenagers and there hadn't been a training period. What if she couldn't find a way to stop his delinquent behavior? What would the consequences for him and the rest of the siblings be? Would it only affect him or would the authorities doubt Jenna's ability to care for the kids all together and take them away?

Lilly noticed the expression on her aunt's face and almost felt sorry for her, but her brother took precedence and Jenna had some part in his bad mood. She didn't yet know what exactly happened, but she intended finding out soon and it didn't much matter anyways.

Her twin was in a bad state, which meant someone had upset him and in Lilly's eyes that equaled a crime. It didn't really matter whether it was done unintentionally or with the best of intention...the road to hell was paved with good intentions. They all needed to leave her brother alone.

She knew Jenna cared for them though and was only worried that someone came along and took them away because they found her incapable. Lilly feared that too and so still willing to give her aunt the benefit of the doubt she merely announced her presence and made to go to Jeremy. "I'll talk to him" she reassured, almost as an afterthought. Informing other people wasn't her priority.

Jenna looked truly grateful at that announcement, but Elena, who had looked clueless too, now approached the stairs with a determined expression.

Oh no, none of that. Lilly stepped into her sister's way to stop her. "I got it" she said pointedly.

Elena's expression turned sour. She did not like being told off when she was in one of her mothering moods, but even she had to admit that Lilly probably was the best option. If anyone had a chance to get through to Jeremy it would be Lilly. So she begrudgingly stepped down and allowed her younger sister to pass.

Lilly didn't really care. Jeremy wouldn't have let Elena in anyways. She was relieved not to have a fight on her hands right now though. She was worried and eager to get to her twin. An argument with Elena would have been a complication she didn't need.

Her previous confidence went out of the window fast when she knocked on her brothers door and was answered with an aggressive "Go away!" from Jeremy.

On some level she knew this wasn't aimed at her and Jeremy had no way of knowing it was her at the door, but it still stung.

Despite the rude words she carefully opened his door and peeked in.

"It's me" she meekly announced, a little afraid he might not want to see her either.

Her twin had never refused her company before and she didn't really expect him to do so now, but a little voice in her head kept telling her to prepare for disappointment.

They were as close as twins could be and especially after their parent's death contact, physical contact, had become more important for the both of them. They became more affectionate with each other. They hugged more and during the first weeks had often slept in each other's bed, holding tightly onto their other half after crying themselves to sleep.

The past months had been hard and neither one of them would have made it through without the presence of the other one.

Despite this connection there had been rocky patches. Lilly worried about Jeremy's drug usage for a while and even though she would always take his side when push came to shove, they had exchanged words about it.

Lilly's worries were defused in an instant when Jeremy grabbed onto her wrist, pulled her into the room and forcefully threw the door shut behind her. He locked the doors to both the hallway and their shared bathroom too. That made it quite obvious that her presence was okay, even wanted, while everyone else's was not.

Lilly laid down on Jeremy's bed and after only a short moment he plopped down next to her.

Neither one of them said a word for quite some time, they just lay there together. They just lay next to each other, both staring up at the ceiling and lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. The twins were comfortable together. Always. They didn't need words.

Their mother had once told them that even as infants they had been able to calm each other. When one of them was fussy just laying the other in the crib next to the upset baby often solved the issue. Lilly had thought their other half not being close-by probably was what made them fussy in the first place. Miranda adding that putting the babies together even helped to allay tummy aches or teething pains only confirmed that thought, but it had been water under the bridge by then. When the twins learned about this they were old enough to express their needs with words or satisfy them themselves.

Either way, being together always helped the twins. Issues certainly weren't magically chased away just by the other half's presence and problems didn't solve themselves just because the twins embraced. The closeness, however, helped them cope with the torment and bear the anguish.

Helping Jeremy cope with whatever plagued him was Lilly's sole reason for being here, on a bed with him, now. She had a good idea what the problem was without Jeremy spelling it out for her and Jeremy knew that. She wouldn't talk about it unless he wanted to, initiated it. Her presence alone might be all he needed, wanted for now.

Lilly reached down to Jeremy's hand and intertwined their fingers. Both siblings sighed almost inaudibly. The physical connection somehow helped them feel closer, more protected. It always felt like they were coming home. They could feel each other without touching, but it made it more noticeable, more real somehow, that there was another person who would always have your back, always understand you, no matter what.

"I miss them." Jeremy eventually broke the silence. What he said wasn't anything new or anything Lilly didn't know already. It was merely him indicating that he was ready to talk.

Lilly squeezed her brother's hand. "Me too." This wasn't news to Jeremy either, but it was her way of saying that she was available to listen.

It was a silly game, not really necessary at all, but it did help pushing everything else out and concentrating on each other. A long practiced ritual to reassure each other that it was their personal time now. They were alone, in a locked room. Nobody could interrupt or would listen in to them when they bared their souls to each other. Nothing said in this situation would ever make it outside this room. This was strictly between the twins.

"Seeing Vicky in hospital just made it real again" Jeremy began. "I'd managed to push it out until I saw her bleeding. And then seeing her in that hospital bed…." He trailed off unable to express what this situation had made him remember, but the tears running down from his eyes made it quite obvious.

Lilly understood enough. "Pushing it out isn't gonna work. Not this way. They would be devastated if they knew about the drugs, Jer." They both knew she was talking about their parents. Vicky had been the topic, but their parent's death was the actual problem.

Jeremy only groaned in response, but he did turn onto his side and was facing her now. Lilly wouldn't lecture him with empty phrases like Elena frequently did. When she mentioned his drug consuming she had a point and he had a feeling it would change things for him drastically.

Lilly didn't disappoint. She took a deep breath before turning onto her side to face Jeremy and began. "I wanna be numb too. I know it is your way of coping and it works." He knew she wasn't asking him to share his stash even before she voiced her 'but', there was more to it. "It's destroying you though. And it makes you numb to everything. Even me."

She was crying now and it was getting harder for her to get the words out between sobs. "M-mom and d-d-dad wouldn't want this and...and I..." she had to take a breath to bring the rest out, tears streaming down and soaking the pillow. "I n-need you, Jer. I need my t...twin. I don't know w...what I w-would do if anything happened to y-you!"

The last part had almost been a wail and Jeremy felt his heart shatter. Lilly felt abandoned and he was the cause. He had been too caught up in chasing the next high to numb his own pain that he lost sight of his sister's plight. He wasn't suppressing his own tears anymore as he wrapped his arm around his twin and pulled her close. "I know" he mumbled into her hair. "I will always be here for you, I promise."

He wasn't stupid enough to promise her he was staying with her forever. If their parent's death taught them anything it was that life was fleeting. Anything could happen anytime and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Lilly understood the promise for what it was. Her twin would watch over her always, even if he couldn't physically do so anymore. She wrapped her own arms around him and with her face pressed to his chest she mumbled "I know. And so will I."

Jeremy hadn't apologized and Lilly hadn't blamed him. They didn't need those acts. Each sibling had said what they had to say and the other understood. This was how they worked and what made being with each other so easy. No gestures were needed. It went without saying that things would change now that the problem had been issued.

They both squeezed tightly and didn't try to suppress the sobs or the tears. They were grieving together. For the people, the futures lost, for their own futures and for each other. Until sleep finally took over. Neither one loosening their grip on the other, even in sleep they stayed locked together.

Accordingly the next morning was unpleasant. Jenna and Elena found the twins fast asleep and locked in a tight embrace. They knew what this meant. Having seen them like this several times over the past months they knew they had given in to the grief. Meaning well they jumped into action, determined to force both teenagers out of their low and make them feel better.

Neither Jeremy nor Lilly appreciated this, since they both felt they were fine. They had grieved. Last night. They were done now. All they wanted to do was move on and act like nothing ever happened. It was what they normally did and it usually worked. Never change a running system, right?

So when the maternal duo barged in, the twins exchanged an exasperated and slightly desperate look and groaned simultaneously. The common goal now was to escape as quickly as possible.

Despite still being tired and sluggish Lilly hurried past them to her room, grabbed an outfit for the day and fled into the bathroom. She didn't lock Jeremy's side of the shared room. The shower curtain would hide her modesty and she simply couldn't just leave him to the proverbial wolves.

Jeremy never joined her in the room though. He must have valued privacy over cleanliness. At least his toothbrush was gone when Lilly finished, so he wouldn't forgo dental hygiene in favor of bubblegum.

Unsurprisingly Jeremy was nowhere to be found after Lilly got dressed and went downstairs. He'd left the premises as fast as he could. To Lilly's intense relief neither her aunt nor her sister were in the kitchen either. Maybe she had beaten them to it. Not about to waste precious time contemplating her luck though, she quickly purred some coffee into a travel mug and reluctantly made her way to school. This was the perfect opportunity to skip classes all together. One call to Tyler would fix it for her, but she didn't have it in her.

She was up early enough to take her time walking to school and unfortunately her conscious kicked in so instead of daydreaming she spent the time mulling over this morning's events. She knew she was being mean by avoiding her aunt and sister. Their overbearing act was rooted in worry, after all, and Lilly had to appreciate that. While really appreciating their care she also wasn't in the mood to relive the pain again that was dealt with and concluded last night. However, she could have handled it a little more maturely and should have voiced her thoughts instead of fleeing.

With a heavy sigh she entered the school grounds. She wouldn't apologize for going with what felt right, but she wouldn't keep pushing her family out either.

Making this decision helped Lilly feel better about herself, but it didn't help make the extremely boring school day pass any faster. The only bright spot in a dull day was awaiting her in the afternoon.

It was the first day of training for this season and when she entered the gym she was immediately surrounded by her equally excited teammates. The last training session had been at the last day of school followed by a competition on the corresponding weekend. Since then most of the girls hadn't seen each other. Most went on vacation or to visit relatives out of town. Lilly was the sole exception with her parents being too dead to take her anywhere except the graveyard. Her teammates were understanding and asked her how she had been. Despite the support it still stung.

Lilly distanced herself from all the accounts of fun vacations and got warmed up instead.

She had been doing gymnastics since she was six years old. Her mother had taken her and her brother to baby gymnastics classes and while Jeremy fussed and only reluctantly joined his sister, Lilly had loved it.

As soon as she was in school and the opportunity of a gym team was in her reach, Lilly jumped on the chance. She was really good at it too. Always at the top of her team, performing the most difficult tricks within hours of learning the technique. Encouraged by her proud parents she strived in the sport.

Despite Mystic Falls being a small town with very little chance of a national trainer ever visiting, Lilly gave her best. She was aware of her slim chances to be recognized and chosen for a nationally competing team. The girls that performed on that level usually had a lot more training than her three times a week.. It didn't bother her all that much. She was in it for the sport, not the medals, so competing on a regional level was enough for her, even so the confidence boost of being able to compete in a national contest wouldn't have hurt, at all. She always had the chance to make it to state championship. That wouldn't take professional training but might open the way to it.

Lilly would welcome the training that came with being on the up and up to becoming a national champion. Not so much for the title, though that would be nice. She was in it for the training, for the effects on her body and psyche.

She loved gymnastics. It took her mind elsewhere. It allowed her to completely emerge herself into the exercise, into the movement. Lilly wasn't herself anymore when she showcased her abilities. Her body was doing the work, while her mind could stray without her consciously acknowledging it. Once a competition routine was done she usually was too exhausted to talk or think much. That was a state she reveled in, aimed to achieve and rejoiced when she got it.

Regular training was good too. If done right, it took her thoughts off of other things, including and especially her parent's death. Training was her escape. She could push her body to the extreme, demand everything of it, numb the emotions in the process. When Lilly was training nothing else mattered. It was just her body and the bars. Or the beam, which was her favorite. She would twirl and jump and pivot and whirl, leaving her thoughts outside along with the rest of the world.

Training had used to be her escape, her sanctuary. Like Jeremy's escape were the drugs, Lilly used sports. When she was training nothing else mattered, just her body and its limits. Pushing those limits was her personal drug.

Shortly after the accident that killed her parents Lilly used the sport to numb herself. Training hard and taking her body to ever higher limits and far beyond those was her poison. She reveled in the feeling of utter exhaustion that left no room for anything else. Not grief, not loss, not loneliness. Just exhaustion.

Lilly in her grief had ignored all the warning signs her body sent and had still pressed on. After her trainer found her unconscious on the mats for the second time, he put a stop to it. She hated him for robbing her of her outlet, but on a rational level she understood why he did it. Her continually passing out during training wouldn't do anyone any favors, least of all herself. Her trainer was protecting her in the only way he could.

Her cover blown Lilly couldn't train anymore. She understood why hunting her exhaustion wasn't accepted, but she wasn't even allowed to do regular training. Nobody trusted her not to overdo it. Hence Lilly was beyond glad for regular training sessions to start again with the new school semester. It had been hell for her to be idle for the rest of the summer after she'd been cut off. All the torture would end now.

So while the rest of the girls where most excited to meet their teammates again Lilly herself couldn't wait to get started on the real training and her trainer didn't disappoint. To Lilly's immense pleasure the trainer didn't go easy on his team. He chased the girls across the football field, made them do sprints and had everyone perform their competition routine, commenting relentlessly on all the mistakes and making him do it over and over again until he was satisfied. When he'd finally been done with the gymnastics they had to run around the field again to build up stamina, and he was taking their times now. He wasn't happy with their times. They'd all decreased over the summer. Everyone but Lilly. She was the only one to keep on par with her previous time. After being cut of training running was her only way to stay fit. Now she was barely out of breath after the measuring run. Both her and the trainer knew she hadn't even scratched on her potential, but both had their reason not to bring it forward.

Lilly would have stayed longer to train some more, but her trainer kept a close eye on her and wouldn't allow her to do anything more than exactly what he ordered them to. Hence she was now in the locker rooms with her teammates who were more excited about tonight's event than the training.

Reluctantly she agreed to watch the comet with her team. They wouldn't let her leave before she gave in and she did like her teammates. They used to have a lot of fun together. Before...everything happened. Maybe it could be like that again. Lilly could hope. The hard training had mellowed her quite a bit, so that probably played a role in her agreeing so easily.

At home Lilly didn't run into anyone. Her family seemed to all be busy with their own issues. Taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes took Lilly hardly any time without interruptions She even got to do her homework and relax a little before it was time to meet the girls in the town square.

The night out with her team was fun. They joked and laughed a lot. The comet was beautiful, they all enjoyed watching it and after the spectacle was over they decided to conclude the night with drinks at the grill.

However when Lilly returned from a bathroom break she found everyone else gone. Her team apparently had decided to leave without her.

Lilly looked around the bar to see if either of her siblings or any of her friends were still here. She came up empty. It was quite late after all.

Reluctantly she stepped outside and eyed her surroundings. Wrapping her jacket around her body tightly gave her at least a small boost in confidence, but she still felt very much alone when she couldn't spot any of her friends or their cars.

It wasn't really this cold yet and Mystic Falls was safe enough for her to walk home alone. She stared at her silent phone for longer than she'd like to admit, internally debating whether to call one of her siblings to pick her up. Shaking her head she tugged on the lapels of her jacket and took a few hesitant steps.

It wasn't that she was scared. She just wasn't used to walking alone in the dark. It felt dangerous, even though there was no objective reason for her to feel that way.

Just when she'd finally decided to act like a big girl and brave the darkness she noticed Stefan watching her from a short distance away. Zach's warning flashed into her mind and she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. She frowned.

As she decided to confront him about his staring, which would no doubt have happened in a very snippy tone, he stepped up and addressed her. "You okay? You look a little lost."

Lilly's confrontational words died in her throat at his kindness. He'd obviously been worried. This was embarrassing. Lilly had to swallow before she was able to speak. "I...uh..." She took a deep breath. "I was out with friends. I thought I would catch a ride home with Elena or Jeremy, but it seems I missed them..." So far so good. Stefan was still waiting patiently and that gave her the last push to explain her predicament. "Uh...I don't really like walking alone at night..." She trailed off and had to swallow again. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment by now.

Stefan didn't seem the least bit fazed with her stuttering. He simply offered his arm for her to take. "I'll walk you home." He offered this like it was the most natural thing in the world. There wasn't even a hint of amusement on his face. Lilly had quite expected him to make fun of her, ridicule her of being afraid of the dark. But Stefan was the perfect gentleman.

"No, no, I'm sure you have to..." Lilly started but she wasn't sure what else he might have to do. She hardly knew the guy. "I...don't want to bother you" she finally objected halfheartedly, but took hold of his offered arm anyways.

"It's no bother at all." Stefan gently tucked and she allowed him to steer them towards the Gilbert house.

His rather stoic behavior had seemed hilarious to her earlier, now she was grateful for his patience and giving up her weak protests she let him lead her home.

What Lilly couldn't know was that it came quite naturally to Stefan to escort a girl home. Young unmarried women wouldn't be left to walk alone in his human days. Not even during the day and certainly not at night. Granted, in his days it wouldn't have been suitable for the two of them to walk alone either. They would have had a chaperon watching their every step. But that was a custom Stefan could easily overlook as long as he got his hopefully soon-to-be-girlfriend's little sister home safely.

Stefan's presence made the walk seem a lot shorter and a lot less daunting. She really hadn't wanted to walk all alone, she realized. He also was a great conversationalist. They easily found common interests and talked about anything from hobbies to politics. If not for Lilly's home coming into view just then they would have launched into a discussion about the female perspective in 19th century literature, but it wasn't to be.

They arrived at Lilly's porch in no time and Stefan let go of her arm.

"Thank you so much for walking me home, Stefan." She reached up on her tip-toes to place a kiss on his cheek. She was very grateful for his company and he hadn't made it seem like a chore. "I hope you and Elena work out. You are a great guy."

Stefan seemed at a loss for words after the rather blunt words and Lilly's affectionate gesture. He certainly wasn't used to being treated this way.

Lilly used that moment to walk up the porch steps and unlock the door. "Have a good night." She waved goodbye and he managed to return the gesture in time, before she shut the door and disappeared into the house.

"Sleep well, sweet Lilly" he whispered in response, aware that she was already inside and wouldn't hear the words.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Lilly hurried to find Tyler as soon as she arrived at the school. They hadn't met each other last night and only briefly the day before. Going so long without seeing each other was uncommon for the two. Lilly expected him to be worried about Vicky's health, what with her disappearing act last night and ripping the fresh stitches, so she'd refrained from calling or texting him.

Elena had told her how Stefan had found Vicky and Lilly thought that must have been the reason for his presence at the grill when she left. With an amused grin she'd mentioned that Stefan had to be a serial hero. First he rescued Vicky from her drug induced self, then he saved Lilly from the darkness of night. Who knows who else he'd saved that night! She had to giggle at the mental image of Stefan in tights and with a super hero cape. Maybe she should get him one. Or a T-shirt. They were friends now, after all.

Admittedly Lilly made friends quite easily and quickly. She wasn't judgmental by nature and seemed to always see the good in a person. Getting along with her wasn't hard either. She might have been a little quirky and her affectionate ways weren't everyone's thing, but it was hard to resist her easy-going, fun-loving personality.

Those lovable personality traits had suffered quite a bit after an incident with her ex-boyfriend. She was a little less open to meeting new people and a little more reluctant with strangers. Her temper had become more volatile and she tended to lash out when she felt threatened now. All things considered though she was still the jovial person you could effortlessly get along with.

Stefan however had managed to reach deeper than the average acquaintance and touch a special spot in her heart that was reserved for true friends. He'd been observant enough to notice her predicament in the first place which wasn't a quality many people possessed. Then he'd selflessly offered his company ignoring the troubles it caused for himself. The Gilbert residence wasn't far from the grill, but it was quite the deviation from a direct route to the boarding house, where Stefan resided. He'd taken the detour for her without hesitation or complaint, all to make sure she got home safely and comfortably. She'd felt that for him it was more than a way into her sister's heart. He'd genuinely felt obliged to escort her.

Not only that, but he'd also made the walk enjoyable with good conversation, which showed that they had quite a few interests in common. Not once had he made her feel like it was a chore to escort her. Instead he'd seemed to genuinely enjoy her company.

Stefan certainly qualified as a friend after this and Lilly sincerely hoped he could capture her sister's heart. He would make a gentle, considerate boyfriend for her sister, she was sure. On par with Matt, if not better, though that remained to be seen.

Half-way to the lockers Lilly was brought out of her reflections when she spotted Tyler. The boy seemed as happy to see her as she felt at his sight and the two shared a tight embrace.

"Hey Lils" he greeted her enthusiastically. "I was looking for you."

"So was I!" she exclaimed as she ran her fingers through the strands on the back of his neck. She squeezed him tightly before she released him and attempted to take a step back.

Tyler caught her before she could step away and held onto her hands. "Hey, I...uh...was wondering..." he started stuttering, but Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Just spit it out, Ty!" She interlaced their fingers and squeezed.

He chuckled at her impatience. It wasn't a surprise. She'd never been the most placid person. More importantly she was telling him without so many words that there was no reason to be hesitant with her. She'd have his back.

Tyler sighed. "Alright, but remember you asked for it." He looked at her wearily, but she only nodded encouragingly. "My mom is hosting a dinner party tonight, again, and she wants me to be there."

Lilly's lips twitched in amusement, those dinner parties were a regular occurrence in the Lockwood household, though usually Tyler's presence wasn't required. She refused to give anything away yet, although she anticipated both Tyler's question and her answer to it.

"You know how much I hate her dinners" Tyler continued almost pleadingly. "So I told her I couldn't do it because you were coming over. That's the only way to shut her up. She loves you! And if you aren't there she will know and drag me down to meet the old hags and..." he rambled on, his words becoming more and more rushed, until Lilly gently placed a finger over his lips to shut him up.

"I would love to come over tonight, Ty." She smiled widely at him. "We can continue the movie we didn't get to finish last time."

Tyler's relieve was palpable, though why he had doubted her support was beyond Lilly. She chose not to question it. He could get weird with asking for help, it wasn't in his nature. They exchanged a clandestine grin before parting ways.

Evening – or rather movie night - couldn't come soon enough. Aside from Lilly's new friend Stefan showing up his history knowledge and putting Mr. Tanner in his place in the process, school was as boring as ever. Lilly began to regret her decision to take it easy this semester. She was thoroughly bored which wouldn't be the case if she had to strain herself in advanced courses. Then again, the semester had barely begun. The teachers – again with the exception of Mr. Tanner – were going easy on their students during the first days. They had to pick up the slack some time, it certainly couldn't stay like this. Either way, Lilly's reasons remained valid. Skipping ahead wasn't an option, even if the tedium was bordering on unbearable.

Lilly's home was empty when she returned from school. She didn't need much time for her sparse homework and when she got ready to leave towards the Lockwood's the house was still empty. Maybe everyone had plans for the evening which was fine with Lilly since it meant she wouldn't have to justify her own plans.

Jenna was easy-going and wouldn't object as long as Lilly's exploits remained reasonable. The girl brought home a constant string of perfect grades, so what was there to complain about. As long as she returned home at a somewhat reasonable hour and informed her aunt of any sleep-overs, Jenna was fine with it.

Elena however was certain to have an opinion. She'd try to enforce a curfew and since her sister's behavior annoyed Lilly increasingly, she was glad to avoid the argument by being gone before anyone could voice a complaint. Her short note on the kitchen counter would have to be good enough.

Without anyone home Lilly left early in expectation of a fun evening with her best friend. She knew she'd probably arrived before Carol Lockwood's dinner guests but she texted Tyler anyways, instead of ringing the bell at the front door.

As expected Tyler ushered her in through a side entrance so they wouldn't draw attention. Preparations were ongoing and while Tyler's mom liberally excused her son from the dinner in favor of Lilly's company, that didn't mean she wasn't capable of changing her mind in an instant and attempt to rope both teenagers in if she saw them.

So while Lilly's presence wasn't a secret, it was easier all around to avoid the lady of the house, even if it comprised creeping around like thieves.

Being dragged into the dinner party was a nightmare both teenagers were determined to avoid since Mrs. Lockwood wouldn't be able to pass up the opportunity to show them around her circle of Mystic Fall's housewives and brag about Tyler's and Lilly's engagement.

They weren't engaged and never would be, but no matter how often they told her or how many girlfriends Tyler brought home, she would insist that they belonged together and would one day realize it. In her mind the two were destined to get married, pop out a bunch of beautiful children and live happily ever after.

It just was her thing. The teenagers were used to it by now and usually just laughed it off, but that didn't mean they were eager to provoke a situation. Hence the sneaking in.

* * *

At the Gilbert residence Damon was sporting a smirk, feeling smug. The dinner was finished and they all were sitting in the living room. Stefan still looked furious and both the Katherine look-alike and her friend seemed uncomfortable, but Damon was satisfied with his progress.

Dating the pretty blond airhead had shown to be a great decision. She tasted delicious and her insecurities had made her an easy victim. She not only helped assuage his constant hunger, her closeness to the look-alike was a bonus he just couldn't pass up on.

He now had access to the house. It consisted as his personal playground now. He could enter any time he chose to play and that pissed Stefan off. That alone made the whole mission a success. Damon hadn't yet decided if he wanted to kill the offending human. Maybe he'd just play with her for now, rile Stefan up some more. That was always fun.

He could take his time now with killing the girl. Maybe he shouldn't even do it himself. Would Katherine appreciate him keeping the copy alive for her to kill herself? It could be his gift to her and he'd still have all the impersonator's loved ones to play with first. Decisions, decisions…

Damon's musings about the clone's demise were interrupted when the front door opened and a silvery voice called "I'm home!".

He was surprised. He'd been too preoccupied with his scheming to listen to the car that dropped the owner of the voice off. He had heard a car stop, but he hadn't paid it any mind. This was a residential area after all, cars stopped and started all the time. It wasn't surprising for him to have missed the car. However he was caught off-guard by the voice which sounded clear and modulated and had a soft-spoken quality to it..

He had done his homework and knew about the look-alike's kid brother and he knew about the aunt turned guardian. That voice was clearly female but sounded too young to be an aunt. The way that person just walked in and casually announced their presence told of familial connections though.

Damon perked up, intrigued. Another family member would only make the game more exciting. More players in the game meant more fun for him.

"Hey Leney, you won't guess what..." There was rummaging in the parlor before footsteps grew closer. Damon had a hard time remaining in his seat and acting casual. He wanted to get a look at the newest – to him – addition to the impostor's family.

Conversation had ceased when the owner of the voice first announced their presence. Damon noticed that everyone was looking at the door to the parlor with soft smiles. Even the copy herself and his brother had their gaze fixed on the entrance with a smile. What was that about?

Finally the owner of the voice rounded the corner and walked into the living room. "You won't guess what Mrs. Lockwood did this ti…" The girl that belonged to the voice stopped dead when she noticed she had an audience. She froze on the doorstep, the sentence dying in her throat and she blushed prettily.

Damon was mesmerized. An angel had just walked into the space. She wore light blue jeans and a tight white top with a cream colored woolen cardigan attempting to hide her womanly curves. She quite obviously didn't try to showcase her female assets, yet the modesty of her outfit somehow accentuated her beauty. Her honey-blonde, almost golden, curls fell freely and surrounded her delicate face like a halo. There wasn't a trace of make-up on her face, yet the brilliance of her jade-green eyes drew him in and Damon – feared vampire, eternal stud – was reduced to amazed staring.

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed after a brief moment of stunned hesitation. "I didn't know you had guests..." She trailed off, her cheeks turning pink, and Damon realized this girl's beauty wasn't in her outward appearance. Not only in her outward appearance at least. She was quite obviously beautiful, but what made her recognizable was her innocent candor. Her demeanor held a purity and freshness that wasn't commonly seen in this day and age.

She confirmed his impression when she waved at the group with a shy-sounding "Hi guys!" and the blush still firmly in place. She politely reached her hand out to him, even before she'd really looked at him above recognizing him as a stranger. "Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Lillian Gilbert, Elena's sisters." She was all etiquette and good behavior as she reached out to shake his hand, but when their eyes met Damon's breath caught for a moment and he could have sworn he saw a shyly amused twinkle in those innocent green eyes.

It took a lot more self-restraint than he'd like to admit, but he managed to school his dazed features into a pleasantly neutral expression when he raised from his seat and took the offered hand. For the briefest moment, when they touched, the girl seemed as dazed and breathless as he'd felt, but she got her bearings so fast he couldn't be sure. He composed himself with great effort, refusing from kissing the proffered hand and introduced himself as nonchalant as he could. "Damon Salvatore, Stefan's brother."

To Damon's amazement the girl's eyes lit up in sheer elation when he said his name.

"Oh! You are the brother!" she exclaimed happily. "Zach told me about you. It's so nice to meet you!" She was radiating joy and Damon couldn't take his gaze off her. Her eyes roamed over his form inquisitively. Not with the lustful gaze that he was used to receive from women, but with genuine curiosity.

He was so distracted by her appearance that it didn't even occur to him to inquire about her relations to his descendant. Before he could manage to collect his thoughts enough to question her, his brother's girlfriend caught her attention, drawing it away from him, and Damon felt unexpected irritation flare up at this. He'd liked the girl's focus being on him.

"What where you shouting about when you came in? I won't believe…?" the brunette prompted the younger girl who blushed a dark crimson. "Only Mrs Lockwood pestering Tyler and I again. She just won't take no for an answer. I'll tell you later."

"Oh, I can believe that. It has been her spiel since the two of you were playing in the sandbox." Caroline butted in with a giggle. "Are you coming to my house tomorrow after the game? Almost the entire cheerleading squad is coming. We are having a twilight movie marathon."

Lilly's curls whipped around her head as she resolutely shook her head. "I don't think so Caroline."

"Why not?" The blonde demanded indignantly. "You know all the girls. Most of them are on the gym team, too." She sighed wistfully, but that didn't interrupt her babbling for long enough. Damon should have compelled her to be silent, he mused as the conversation took a turn he didn't appreciate. "I'll never understand why you don't join the squad. With your height and flexibility you'd make such an awesome flyer..."

Lilly rolled her eyes. The last statement wasn't even worth a response. They had this conversation at least once a month. Caroline refused to understand that Lilly simply wasn't comfortable performing in front of an audience in those teeny tiny cheerleading outfits. Wearing skin-tight gymnastic suits that revealed every curve of her body was bad enough, but at least at gymnastic competitions the audience was much smaller and didn't consist of horny highschool students. Besides, she loved the sport, needed it like the air to breathe. And you simply couldn't do it in baggy clothes. That would be a recipe for disaster and serious injuries. "It's not that, Caroline. I just really don't like the movies" she smiled, only reacting to the relevant part of the statement.

Caroline looked so astonished it was almost comical. "Why...what could you possibly not like about Twilight? Everyone loves it!"

"Don't even get me started. There is so much wrong with that story." Lilly shook her head with a disgusted look on her face. The two other girls sighed audibly while Damon watched the exchange intrigued. Both Elena and Bonnie had already been submitted to Lilly's rant about the famous vampire love story. Damon however was curious to hear the girl's reasons. He himself hated the story mostly because he felt offended by the way vampires were portraited. Sparkling! How...undignified!

"Name one thing!" Caroline demanded outraged. She didn't take kindly to someone trashing her favorite stories.

"Fine. But remember you asked for it." Lilly conceded crossing her arms defensively. "I won't even mention that the vampires sparkle like fairies. That part is obviously stupid."

Damon had to stifle a grin when she spoke out loud what had been going through his head. Apparently the girl had a brain, too, and wasn't just a pretty face.

"But why do those vampires have to be animal munchers? Besides the fact that they suck on fur every time they eat, which is disgusting, I don't get why the author did it.

Stifling a laugh, Damon turned to look at his brother, who glared in return with narrowed eyes, daring him to say something, which caused a broad grin. Not one to turn down a challenge Damon probably would have made a cryptic comment at Stefan's expense, but Lilly hadn't finished her rant. When she continued speaking the older Salvatore swallowed his remark and turned back to listen closely, curious to find out where she was going with this.

"I mean, if you decide to write about mythical monsters why not go for the real thing? Why use a watered-down, tame version of it?"

Caroline opened her mouth to interrupt, no doubt planning to list all the ethical, compassionate reasons that were given by the characters in the story. But Lilly lifted her hand to stop her, indicating she wasn't yet done. "Vampires are evil, dangerous creatures. That's the whole point, the fascination about them. It's not real impressive when Edward wouldn't have eaten Bella to begin with, even if she was just a random girl as opposed to being his one true love. No drama there. Surely if it really was the epic all-consuming love as which it is described, then Edward's nature shouldn't have mattered to her either way. And wouldn't it be much more impressive, too?"

Damon had listened with rapt attention and now had a shit-eating grin on his face. "Flawless reasoning, Miss Gilbert. I happen to completely agree with you" he praised, ignoring Stefan's venomous glare.

She beamed at him. "Why thank you, Mr Salvatore."

Caroline sat stunned, not able to come up with a response right away. Wanting to avoid an argument Elena jumped in before the blonde could compose herself. "Are you hungry, Lilly? There are left-overs in the kitchen. Help yourself and join us?"

Lilly nodded eagerly, not seeming to mind the interruption. Apparently she wasn't too worried about the topic, or just easily distracted. "Starving, actually. But I think I'll stay in the kitchen. I still have to read two chapters for lit class...don't worry, I'll do the dishes!" She skipped out of the room, but before she disappeared she turned around to address the group once more. "Bye guys. Bye Damon, it was nice meeting you!" and with that she was gone from Damon's sight, who stared after her in chagrined admiration.

This girl had taken him completely by surprise. Not only with how he hadn't known of her existence beforehand, but also with her charmingly interesting personality. All that besides her looking like an angel who'd fallen straight from heaven. With great effort he finally snapped out of his haze and returned his attention to the group of friends. He was here for a reason and getting distracted by some unimportant teenager wasn't part of the plan, no matter how intriguing she was. Damon Salvatore didn't do distracted.

Stefan, who had been watching his brother intently, furrowed his brows in concern. He had noticed the look on Damon's face and it worried him greatly. His brother was interested in Elena's sister and that was not good. Not for him, not for Elena and especially not for Lilly. He'd have to find a way to put a stop to whatever Damon was planning before it was too late. Being so close to finally finding a piece of happiness Stefan wasn't prepared to allow his brother to turn it all into ash. He didn't have a plan yet, but he would find a way. So as not to give anything away to the perceptive vampire, he composed himself. Though he kept a suspicious eye on Damon whose gaze seemed to repeatedly stray towards the door where Lilly had disappeared.

* * *

Today was an important day for Tyler and Lilly. This evening the school's football team would play the first game of the season. It was a home match, which contributed to the entire school being in uproar, there were banners everywhere, at least half of the student body was wearing the team colors and the teachers didn't give any homework so nobody would have to miss the game.

Football wasn't very important to Lilly, not by itself. It was relevant by association. Football held her interest only in the capacity that it was important to Tyler. What was important to one, was important to the other. That was just how their friendship worked. Hanging around Tyler as much as she did, Lilly couldn't help having gained a fair knowledge of the sport during their years of friendship.

Today she couldn't catch a single moment alone with her best friend. Everyone they came across felt compelled to greet Tyler, wish him luck or give unwanted advice. The duo used to joke about all the 'sofa trainers' that couldn't throw a ball to save their lives, but were experts when it came to commenting on the team's performance. The people seemed to flock around Tyler and consequently around Lilly who was glued to his side.

He would never admit it, but Tyler was nervous. He always was before a game, but this time it was extreme. The team had a bad season previously. They had lost most of their games and key players had gotten injured, incapacitating them for several weeks. Losing this first home game of the season would be a blow to the team's collective ego and wouldn't be a positive sign for the rest of the year. They needed a win to start them off. Tyler needed the win.

Hiding his nerves behind a tough facade was easy enough for Tyler, but he didn't fool Lilly. He never fooled Lilly. She seemed to be able to read him like an open book. Not that he minded, much. She would never confront him in front of others and most likely not even in private. It wouldn't have helped anyways. Speaking about the nerves didn't make them go away, so why bother. Lilly knew that and would just give him the silent support he needed. Though she would have liked to have some privacy for them to speak without prying ears.

Usually Lilly would spend the entire day of the game with Tyler. The football team only had to attend the first three classes of the day, after that they were granted the rest of the day to themselves until they had to show up for the pre-game formalities. Lilly basically ditched her own classes on those days, which never caused her any problems. Whether this was because every teacher knew about her close relations to the team or because her good grades excused her, she didn't quite know nor did she care. Supporting her closest friend was what she did, and she would continue doing so no matter what everyone else thought about it, consequences be damned.

Today, however, was an exception to the rule. Tyler didn't have time to spend his day with her. His father had invited him for lunch and Tyler couldn't and wouldn't pass up on it. Those invitations were rare and that they weren't scheduled just as an opportunity to chastise him for some misdeed was even more rare.

Richard Lockwood wasn't the fatherly type. He didn't do encouragement well and he didn't do praise at all. Hence Lilly had her doubts about this meeting, though she had declined Tyler's invitation to join him and his dad. She wouldn't disturb their bonding time. And she sincerely hope that's what this was. Tyler deserved some quality time with his father and hearing encouraging words from the harsh man would do wonders for his confidence.

Because Tyler had a good reason, Lilly wasn't upset at being replaced. It was only one afternoon among many more to come. She could deal with this, but that didn't mean she wouldn't ditch her classes. Everyone expected her to, anyways, and with the game putting a damper on studying the monotony in class would be unbearable. The teachers had gone easy on their students so far and Lilly didn't expect them to pick up the slack today of all days. With the game holding everyone's attention it would be pointless to try and interest the kids for something as tedious as mathematical equations or grammatical structures. Shakespeare or Euclid simply weren't as exciting as the latest gossip about the quarterback or the bets on the score.

That's why Lilly found herself idly wandering the streets, enjoying the sun instead of sitting in a stuffy classroom. It was a beautiful late summer day, the great heat wave had passed them already making the air pleasantly warm but not so hot that you craved shadow.

She was contemplating entering the cafe to get some ice cream when a familiar voice sounded from behind her. "Shouldn't you be in school at this time of day?"

Lilly whirled around with a surprised gasp which turned into a bright smile when she faced the owner of the voice. "Zach! Hi! How are you?"

The man didn't freeze this time when she threw her arms around him in a hug. He still got a little startled when she did this, but he'd come to expect the affections from his young friend.

"Fine, fine. You didn't answer the question." He patted her back a little awkwardly and pulled back with his best stern look. "Why aren't you in class studying the laws of science or whatever they teach you these days? You wouldn't be skipping school, surely?"

Lilly gave him a cheeky grin, but the blush on her cheeks gave her away. "I am ditching in a manner of speaking" she admitted, not one to lie easily. "But I'm also not, not really."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The stern look faltered while confusion and fatherly concern were warring on Zach's usually stoic face.

The girl wasn't quite used to this version of her friend. It had been a while since anyone had looked at her with such an expression of stern worry. It reminded her of her father she realized with a pang to her heart. "It's game day. The team gets off early and I usually spend the day with Ty. Nobody expects me to be in class today." She was fidgeting uncomfortably, pulling on the hem of her shirt and picking invisible lints. "Besides, it's not like I'll miss anything important. None of the teachers has been doing anything the least bit challenging. I'd sooner die of boredom, it's been so tedious!" The last few words came out rushed and with an indignant note to them. She'd only have to stamp her foot to resemble a stubborn child whose mother refused to buy the desired candy.

Zach's lips twitched slightly in amusement. He wasn't used to this slightly flustered version of Lilly. "Usually? And were is the Lockwood boy?" he questioned foregoing the topic of her ditching. He had no reason to worry. Lilly was an extraordinary student and highly intelligent. He'd learned that during their frequent talks when she visited the library in the boarding house. She had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and soaked up information like a sponge. Their talks always were enjoyable and she'd even been able to teach him a few things he hadn't known.

After his initial surprise to find an avid mind in such a young person he'd come to appreciate it. Her education didn't give much food for concern, he knew. He also knew about her close friendship with the mayor's son though and her not being with him when she was supposed to be seemed more worrying than her missing a few classes.

"He's meeting his dad for lunch. They don't see much of each other. I didn't want to intrude." She brushed his concerns aside. It sounded reasonable and didn't seem to bother her.

"So instead of sitting in class you decided to enjoy the sun when it doesn't want to grill you for once" he concluded with a smile. "It's actually good to meet you. I meant to give you something."

Lilly's flustered fidgeting ceased the moment she realized Zach wasn't going to chastise her. Her curiosity flared up instead and she clasped her hands in front of her chest as she watched the man reach into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Really?" she questioned excitedly. "A gift?"

"Yes." Zach produced a delicate silver bracelet from his pocket and held it out for Lilly to see. "This belonged to my grand mother. It's fairly old and has been passed down through the female side of the family line. It's supposed to protect the wearer from evil" he explained while Lilly admired the antique piece of jewelry. An intricately beaded silver band elegantly connected to a dainty heart-shaped pendant. "I noticed you always wear a friendship bracelet" Zach continued, referring to the ornament she wore on her right wrist. It was a thin braided leather band with a colorful porcelain pearl in the middle. Tyler had given her the band for her birthday some years ago and she hadn't taken it off ever since. Tyler himself wore a similar accessory with a silver plate with their combined initials in place of the pearl. She'd given it to him on his birthday the same year.

Lilly had listened mesmerized, her eyes never leaving the beautiful jewelry, but when Zach motioned for her to give him her wrist her eyes snapped up to his in shock. "Zach...no..." she objected. "This...this is too much! You can't give me your family heirloom. We are not even related...I..." she trailed off when Zach shook his head and lifted a finger to silence her.

"I want you to have it" he insistent. "I'm not married and I'm getting to old to have children of my own. And Damon and Stefan..." he hesitated then shook his head. "Let's just say I'm not expecting much on that front."

Lilly narrowed her eyes at this, but Zach continued. "You've come to be like a niece to me, maybe even a daughter. It doesn't matter that we aren't related by blood." When Lilly still hesitated he added "I really want you to have this."

With watery eyes Lilly held her arm out to him and allowed him to clasp the bracelet around her wrist. "It's so beautiful" she whispered as she turned her hand in and out to admire how the polished silver sparkled in the sun.

This time he wasn't awkward when Lilly hugged him. "Thank you so so much" she chanted over and over again as she squeezed him tightly and Zach returned the gesture rubbing her back affectionately.

"Thank you for wearing it for me" he murmured before they released each other. "Now I'll leave you to it. I have an errant to run." He pointed at the cafe with a toothy grin that looked out of place on his serious face. "Get yourself some ice cream and enjoy your free day."

Lilly's answering smile was bright and brilliant. "Thank you, Zach. I'll see you soon, I promise." With that they parted ways. Lilly headed towards the ice cream parlor and Zach went back in the direction he came from, probably the city hall, to finish his duties.

Unusually euphoric Zach couldn't resist to turn around and call to his young friend. "Don't let me catch your delinquent behind out of school again" he shouted before continuing his way with a new skip in his step. He couldn't see it, but Lilly watched him with an astonished look on her face. This cheeky behavior was totally out of character for the stoic, callous man. Lilly could only hope the good mood would last and that she'd finally made a breakthrough with her friend. He needed to loosen up.

What Lilly couldn't know was that Zach had accomplished more than just giving a gift to a dear friend and the bracelet was meant to protect her quite literally. It had been passed down through the female side of his family, that part was true. What he'd omitted in his explanation was that his ancestors had known about vampires for quite a while and the little silver pendant encased a drop of liquid vervain. He'd found a way to at least provide some measure of protection from his volatile undead ancestor.

* * *

 **Here you go. Some Zach-and-Lilly-fluff and Lilly finally got to meet Damon. What do you think?**

 **There will be some more from Lilly's perspective soon, but I'm curious about your opinion.**

 **Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites and for the reviews. I appreciate every single one. Please keep the reviews coming, it means a lot.**

 **I have to give you a warning. I'm not a great fan of Elena. You've probably guessed this from the little outburst Lilly had so far, but it's gonna get worse. I promise to do my best to keep it fair, but Elena has some character traits that I feel someone like Lilly wouldn't take silently. Please don't hate me if you are an Elena fan. You have been warned.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Is it weird that I'm kind of nervous about facing Caroline?"

Lilly got out of the car, tying a pullover around her waist. It was a warm day, but this late in the year the evenings already got cold and it would be night before the post-game celebrations finished. There would be celebrations no matter how the game ended. They naturally would celebrate a win, but if they lost the team would still meet to get drunk and wallow in misery.

The Timberwolves didn't have a good record the past season. They had lost most of their games despite their best effort. Lilly wasn't a football fan, but Tyler was, which made the sport important to her as well. Being close to Tyler she could hardly avoid learning some things about the sport. Just yesterday she had to endure a lengthy rant about team dynamics, bad trainers and the weaknesses of pretty much every singly member of the team.

Tyler had been livid with Tanner's decision to accept Stefan into the team this late in the year. He kept on and on about the unfairness of it all and how the boy had missed all the team building exercises, camps and endurance trainings and therefore shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the football field. In the end he begrudgingly admitted that Stefan was quite good and the team could use a player like him.

If they lost tonight, Tyler would blame it on the new guy and since she liked Stefan she didn't want to hear that particular rant. She really hoped they'd break the bad streak tonight. Not only for her sake, but also Tyler's. Her best friend had worked hard this summer, pushing himself to the limit and further over and over again. He deserved this win.

Breaking out of her reverie Lilly turned to respond to her sister. "It would be weird if you weren't nervous. It's Caroline. She is scary when it comes to this kind of thing. I don't want to be in your shoes when you tell her you quit and I'll make sure I'm far away when you do."

Elena scowled at her younger sister in mock anger, but her lips twitched suspiciously and both girls burst into giggles. They had discussed this in the morning. Elena had been reluctant to step down from the cheerleading squad, but it wasn't what she wanted anymore. Lilly had encouraged her big sister to follow her heart and finally Elena came to the conclusion that since it was inevitable she should bite the lemon and just get it done with. Lilly wholeheartedly agreed, but she didn't admire her. They both loved the perky blonde girl, but she could be fierce. Quitting the squad in the middle of a season was not something Caroline would take kindly to, but it couldn't be helped.

Lilly patted her sister's arm sympathetically then disappeared into the crowd announcing she had to find Tyler.

Being barely above 5 feet Lilly had a hard time navigating the crowd on her search for her friend. Eventually she heard his voice and making it to a less crowded speck of the field she finally spotted him. Squealing happily she ran the last few steps towards him and launched herself into his arms. Tyler caught her with practiced ease, wrapped her into his arms and spun her around like she weighed nothing more than a doll. Lilly giggled happily and folded her own arms behind his neck, both not letting go even when he stopped spinning and turned back to his teammates.

Tyler was standing in a circle with some of the football team and they had been discussing game tactics, but none of the others were offended or even surprised by Lilly interrupting and Tyler diverting all his attention to the girl mid-discussion. They were used to their antics and quite fond of the younger girl.

None of them was really close to her knowing that Tyler would throw a fit if he even suspected that any one of them tried it on with her, but she knew the whole team by name and position on the field and always had a friendly word for them whenever they met her in town or in school. Due to her kindness and friendly personality they all had a soft spot for the girl. Even more so since an incident with one of their own not too long ago. Lilly dated one of them for a while and at a party he tried something unsavory with her. After Tyler and her brother Jeremy were through with him he had to face the team, which didn't end much better for the unlucky boy. The details were a little hazy to most of the team, but they all felt protective of her.

Therefore nobody took offense to Lilly interrupting their discussion. "Hey champ, ready to kick butt?" she questioned giggling and placing her hands on Tyler's broad shoulders and pushing back a little after placing a kiss on his cheek. Her feet were dangling several inches of the ground, the only way she could even reach his cheek to kiss him she was so short.

"You bet!" Tyler rumbled with a deep chuckle and finally set her down on the ground, only to pull her next to him and wrap an arm around her slender shoulders. Lilly wrapped her arms around his slim waist before facing the team.

"And you guys? Think you can win tonight?" There was the slightest challenge in her voice, just enough to wake their competitiveness. "No doubt" and "Of course" and other affirmations were all but growled in her direction. Lilly pressed her face into Tyler's side to hide her laughter. The guys were all so competitive. She had been at enough after-game celebrations – or this season more pitty-parties – to know how to get them and they didn't disappoint.

Before she could recover from her laughing-fit a deep voice sounded from the side. "The team mascot arrived. My boys can finally concentrate and get their heads in the game." A collective growl answered the insult, but nobody dared more than a scowl at the trainer. "Mr Tanner" Tyler greeted and pushed Lilly slightly behind him in an unnecessary protective gesture. Tanner might be an obnoxious asshole, but he was still a teacher. He wouldn't do more than throw an underhanded insult at her.

"Miss Gilbert" he started in an overly friendly tone with a menacing smile. "Would you mind joining the rest of the spectators while I brief my team? I'm sure there will be willing recipients for your...affections."

Lilly was nothing if not polite and she knew how to deal with idiots like him without losing face. "Not at all, Mr Tanner" she replied with a sickly sweet voice. "I was just lifting the spirits. They are all yours. Don't mess it up, they deserve the win."

With a squeeze of Tyler's hand and a smile at the team she turned to walk away, followed by the team's snickers and Tanner's glare. He was seething. She hadn't only ignored his attempt to insult her decency, but managed to place a loss entirely on his shoulders with just one short sentence. He was sure to try and make her pay in class, but she was good in history, so what could he really do. Lilly was unconcerned.

Unknown to Lilly and her group of friends the encounter had been watched. Damon couldn't resist showing up for the game. At the very least he could taunt and tortured Stefan some more.

From the side of the bleachers he listened in to the conversation between the team and was delighted to hear that at least some of them despised Stefan and only grudgingly allowed him on the team for his skills.

When Lilly showed up and cuddled up to Tyler he frowned. He would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he wasn't happy with their closeness, even if there didn't seem to be anything romantic between them. A small voice in his mind kept saying she should look at him with such fondness and that brilliant smile should be directed at him, but he resolutely pushed those thoughts away. There was no room for pathetic feelings in his plan and soon enough he would have Katherine by his side again. The little girl didn't hold a candle to the love of his life.

The trainer's comments towards the girl, however, irked him. Her response made him smile, but he didn't miss the vicious glare following her departure. No doubt the teacher was planning malicious things.

Damon smirked evily. He'd found the perfect way to taunt his brother. That guy was a dead man walking, he just didn't know it yet.

Lilly had been walking around, chatting with people here and there and was just about to go find a good seat on the bleachers for the game when she heard a commotion and Tyler's and Vicky's raised voices. She rushed over to were the voices were coming from and stopped dead in her tracks. She almost couldn't believe her eyes. Jeremy and Tyler were in a fight. Not really an evenly matched one though. Tyler was violently punching her brother who was already on the ground, bleeding.

Her stunned paralysis didn't last long. She pushed through the approaching crowd relentlessly, not caring who she pushed or hurt in the process. When she arrived next to her brother and best friend she didn't hesitate and jumped between the fighting boys, throwing herself over Jeremy just as Tyler raised his fist to hit him again. She turned around, an arm in front of her face protectively and her eyes firmly shut, fully expecting to get hit next. When the blow didn't come, she hesitantly opened her eyes and was met with Tyler's shocked expression. His fist hovered inches from her face. He had almost hit her, his best friend, whom he would give his life for and walk through fire to protect.

Tyler was shocked into silence and very slowly lowered his fist and got up, watching Lilly with wide eyes.

Lilly, realizing she wouldn't be taking the beating for her brother, got up herself, eyeing Tyler warily and keeping her own body between him and Jeremy.

The look in her eyes broke Tyler's heart. She had never looked at him with anything less than adoration. She had trusted him. Even after that dreadful night with his former teammate when she shut everyone else out she had trusted him. Now there was suspicion and even fear.

He shook his head slowly realizing what he had done in his rage. One hand found its way to his neck, rubbing it in embarrassment.

"Lils..." he started desperately and trailed off, not knowing how to explain this monumental cock-up to her. He knew they were close, but he also knew how much she loved her brother. They were twins, nothing could come between that bond, not even her love for him.

Frantically searching for an explanation that wouldn't alienate her completely, he missed Jeremy grabbing a broken bottleneck and coming at him with it.

Stefan however didn't miss it and stopped the boy. Lilly whirled around to face her brother, completely missing that Stefan got cut with the bottle's sharp edges and healed immediately.

Lilly faced her twin, her mouth opening and closing at a loss for words. She was torn and didn't know which to do first, yell at him for putting himself in danger or hug him for the pain she saw on his face. Her eyes were wide, breath still coming in pants from the shock, but in the end she didn't have to decide. Elena beat her to the punch. Quite literally.

Their big sister was laying into their brother viciously and Lilly felt her hackles rise. Sure, Jeremy fucked up big time. Attacking someone with a broken bottle? Absolutely not! And she was sure he wasn't altogether innocent in the break-out of the previous fight. But he was still her brother and she knew how Tyler could get if provoked.

No, all things considered Jeremy wasn't blameless, but she was fiercely on his side, so she rounded on Elena in a way she never had before.

"How dare you!" she hissed at the older girl, putting herself between her brother and sister and glared up at Elena. "How dare you raise your voice at him. Our brother has been beaten by a much older, bigger and stronger guy. He was bleeding on the ground!" Lilly took a step forward and surprised by her sister's attitude Elena stepped back. "He found the only way he could to defend himself and you blame him? How dare you, 'Lena!" She grabbed the lapels of Elena's jacket to keep her in place. She wasn't yelling or even speaking particularly loud, but the venom in her voice gave her anger away.

Jeremy used the opportunity provided by his twin sister to flee the scene. Everyone in the gathered crowd had their attentions on the sisters. Nobody had ever seen the siblings fight in public, especially not Lilly. She was the sweet, gentle girl who had a friendly word and a smile for everyone, so they were astonished to see her so fierce.

Elena was as astonished as everybody else. Sure, she knew of the close relationship between the twins and knew Lilly would take Jeremy's side every single time there was a fight. It has been like that as long as they could remember. But seeing her as livid as this was new, her getting physical was new. "Lilly, he used a broken bottle, a weapon" Elena tried to reason with the younger girl. "He could have killed…." But Lilly didn't let her finish. "Jeremy is our brother, 'Lena! I don't care about could or would-haves. He got hurt!"

With that she released Elena's jacked with a push and stalked away in the same direction Jeremy had disappeared to. Elena stumbled back several steps, more from shock than actual force. Lilly's push didn't have that much strength but she'd also never talked to Elena like that.

The crowd had listened in absolute silence and when Lilly left there was a shocked hush before conversations flared up again.

Tyler had watched the exchange in stunned silence and when the younger girl left without sparing him a single glance, he turned and stalked away, heartbroken. He couldn't even blame this on anyone else. He had initiated this fight, he had beaten Jeremy when he already was on the ground. He was the only one to blame and he could only hope Lilly would forgive him in time.

Lilly was unconcerned with anyone else's feelings except Jeremy's, including her own. She needed to find her brother. She could feel his pain almost like a physical force and knew he needed her. When she finally caught up to him behind the bleachers with tears in his eyes she simply hugged him and they wordlessly sunk to the ground, holding each other tightly. They didn't need words, they only needed each other. Jeremy needed Lilly. He had doubted for a moment if she would back him, knowing how close her and Tyler were and that he himself wasn't innocent in the fight. But when she found him he wasn't surprised, only grateful.

They sat there for what felt like hours, the silence only interrupted by the occasional muffled sob from one or the other. When Lilly finally felt Jeremy calm down she lifted her head from his shoulder where it had rested the entire time. She ruffled his hair before she got up. "Don't do that again" she gently admonished, but that was the extend of it. Jeremy knew she didn't approve. She didn't need to tell him. And Lilly knew he needed some time alone to compose himself. He didn't need to tell her either.

Lilly made her way to her sister's car. She expected it wouldn't be locked. In a town like Mystic Falls you didn't need to lock your car or front door. It was a safe place. She had some thinking to do. Tyler had been volatile and aggressive for some time. He'd never so much as raised his voice at her, but she had seen him react to others. For him she'd always made excuses. More than she would have for anyone else. But attacking her twin like that? Unforgivable? She wasn't sure. Lilly loved Tyler. He was her big brother in every way that mattered. And forgiving was what family did, right? But Tyler knew how much Jeremy meant to her. If it had been anyone else...With a heavy sigh Lilly pushed those thoughts away. Tyler wouldn't approach her tonight and tomorrow was the weekend. Before seeing him on Monday in school she didn't need to make a decision. Plenty of time to fuss about the issue. She didn't need to make up her mind while she was still so upset.

Truth be told she surprised herself with how fiercely she'd attacked Elena. As protective and loyal as she was to Jeremy, she wasn't a violent person. Elena frequently made her raging mad with her self-righteousness, but getting physical like that? She had been inches away from actually hitting her sister. If she hadn't known Jeremy needed her….

With a shake of her head Lilly pushed the door close after grabbing her bag from the back seat, and turned around only to give a startled yelp. Right in front of her, way too close for comfort and in her personal space was Damon with an infuriating smirk on his face.

"Damon! You scared me! What are you doing?" She placed a hand on her heart in an attempt to calm the rapid beating, backing away from him so her back was pressed to the car.

Damon could hear her heart beating wildly. Something tugged at his conscience, urged him to comfort her, but he pushed those feelings away. He had something on his mind and was determined to see it through. If the older sister refused to let him play, he would simply toy with the younger. That was fine, for now.

He mentally scoffed. Lilly might show to be more entertaining in the short run anyways, she intrigued him, while Elena couldn't be more than a poor copy of the original. Though after the stinging reaction from Elena he had a suspicion Lilly would be protected too, so he had to treat carefully. A little old fashioned seduction coupled with a gentle 'nudge' should do the trick just fine. The girl would be putty in his hands, he had no doubt.

"I heard you had quite the experience tonight. Thought you could use my company" he purred softly. His voice was smooth black velvet and Lilly found herself caught in his intense stare. Her heart skipped a beat before taking up it's rapid beat again. Damon, of course, heard and took this as his cue to close the short distance between them even more.

Lilly's breath hitched as he stepped impossibly closer, their bodies touching now. His blue eyes were molten liquid, keeping her captured. "Why would that be?" She managed to breath out.

"You need a friend. A shoulder to lean on." Damon continued in that same alluring voice. His pupils expanded the slightest bit, he wasn't putting much force behind the compulsion. He wasn't expecting to need it. "I know you feel drawn to me. And maybe you want me to be more than a friend. Right now." His voice dropped even more on the last part until it was nothing more than a soft murmur and his face was almost eye level with hers now.

Lilly was mesmerized. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this, looked at her like this. Her lips parted slightly and her gaze dropped to his lips for the briefest moment. As she broke eye-contact though an image of Jeremy's distraught face flashed through her mind. What was she doing? Her brother was miserable, her best friend betrayed her trust in the worst way possible and she was standing here thinking about kissing an older guy she barely knew, one who was with her friend no less.

Coming back to her senses she looked back into his eyes. Her hand came up to cup his cheek. "Thank you for being here for me." She spoke very softly and with honest regret in her voice. "But I can't do this. I'm sorry, Damon." With that she breathed the gentlest kiss to his cheek, wiggled out to the side and walked back towards the bleachers.

Damon watched her departure unmovingly and with no outwardly apparent reaction. She had resisted his compulsion. Annoying, but no real surprise there. The way she had done it however… It didn't make him angry like Elena's rejection had. There was no bloodlust flaring up, usually a steady companion of his anger. Instead Lilly's reaction made him feel oddly...vulnerable. Not an emotion he was used to or particularly enjoyed. What was that about? He had to shake himself out of the haze after she disappeared from his sight.

He should be upset and he was. All the anger though was directed at Elena for rejecting him and Stefan for messing up his plans. He couldn't find it in him to begrudge Lilly her reaction after the encounter she had earlier.

He should be raging mad but he wasn't. He felt...was that guilt? It couldn't be. Damon Salvatore didn't do guilt. And yet...

Faintly hearing Stefan talking in the distance the trademark evil smirk was back on his face as he made his way towards the locker rooms.

* * *

It was almost 2 am when Lilly finally stepped out of the shower and changed into her sleep-shirt. She'd remained under the streaming water for a long time and only emerged when there was no hot water left. The evening left her with much to contemplate and the shower generally was a good place to do so. Something about the water washing over her body made thinking easier.

After the confusing encounter with Damon she had found her way back to Jeremy, meeting Vicky on the way who apparently had spoken to him. She had been glad to see her twin in a lighter mood. Whatever Vicky said to him was enough to raise his spirits.

He was also a lot more drunk than when he left the football field, but everything was better than the devastating black cloud he had been trapped in earlier.

In Lilly's opinion anyways. Elena was sure to disagree. She could shove it. The intense rage Lilly had felt when Elena laid into Jeremy had faded almost as soon as she turned her back, but that didn't mean she wasn't still mad. Her brother had quite obviously been in pain. Both physically and emotionally. For him to act so violently was completely out of character. Yes, he had been spiraling since they lost their parents, but that mostly showed in him withdrawing from everything and everyone – except from his twin - he'd never been violent.

He didn't show it much, but he'd always been a sensitive soul, who felt deeply and wholeheartedly. The only person who really got to _see_ this side of him on a regular basis was his twin sister, though the family had caught more than enough glimpses over the years. Jenna was kind of new to the sibling's day-to-day life, she was excused. Though to be fair she didn't haunt him all that much. Elena, however, ought to know better. She'd known Jeremy all his life, learned his mannerisms, what made him tick. She ought to see what the drugs, the alcohol and the pills really were: a way to numb the feelings. Because Jeremy felt so deeply, when his world crushed and burned around him it got just too much to handle.

Lilly was his anchor, she realized that, because he was hers. They tethered each other to the ground, to reality. Without each other neither one of the twins would have made it unscathed, relatively anyways. The drugs were just to take the edge off, because you can't be miserable all the time. You have to find a way to function somewhat normally.

And it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Jeremy smoked the occasional joint and popped some pills, mainly to help him settle at night, when the world quieted down and the emotions got louder, but he was hardly a stoner, let alone a junkie. None of this was healthy by any means, but it wasn't nearly as bad as he made it look. He liked to play it up, because when you were high, people left you alone. That was yet another layer to the ever present shell. His stoner friends didn't ask uncomfortable questions, they never pestered him about his problems. They had enough problems of their own that they didn't want to talk about either. Live and let live was the unofficial mantra. Who cares if you were stoned or just took a puff and acted the part? Nobody, that's who.

Elena ought to recognize all this, but she chose to see what she wanted to see. She'd always tried to mother the twins, protect them and tell them where to go, who to see and what not to do. If anyone was born to be a mother it was Elena. When their parents were still alive it wasn't too bad. The twins got annoyed at times, but the issue was forgotten the next day. It never got to the point where it could cause a rift. There was balance. Elena didn't get as much of a chance to try and parent her siblings and she didn't feel like she had to take charge. There was always someone overlooking, being ultimately responsible. Someone who didn't seem to get overwhelmed and always found a solution to whatever problem arose.

Without their parents the balance was lost. Arguments spiraled out of control, bad habits either weren't acknowledged at all or brought to the light way too often without a real way out. Responsibilities shifted, but while the twins were ready to be guided by aunt Jenna, Elena was not ready to pass the responsibility over.

The twins never needed a lot of parenting. They got into their share of childhood troubles, but later they were comparably well-adjusted. They knew right from wrong and good from bad, their parents had taught them well and they leveled each other out even better. Where one went overboard the other stepped on the brake and vice-versa. In the recent years their parents had merely guided them with good advice. There hardly ever was a reason to enforce authority.

Elena, however, while never ill-mannered, demanded a lot more authoritative attention from their parents. She always obeyed but only after the law was lain down. She seemed to almost demand the tough love, if subconsciously.

While after the death of their parents the twins only lost their sense of direction, Elena lost her status in life. She wasn't a vain person, never had been. But she had been very sure of her status. She had been the oldest one, the first, the role model. She had been her mother's little protege, the one to follow in her footsteps with her writing, her interest in the town's society. The one to wear mom's old clothes for the various decade events, the one to see heirlooms first and learn all about their history. The two had a lot in common and were each other's confidant. She had been daddy's little girl and always would have been, no matter how old she got. It was her he missed when she spent her first sleep-over away from home, her he worried about when she drove the car alone for the first time, her who made his heart bleed when she first dated a boy.

Elena had lost all that, which had to be hard. Jenna didn't seem to see any difference between the siblings so Elena kind of had to find another way. Her attempt to help Jenna with the upbringing of her younger siblings certainly wasn't done with malicious intentions and did earn her Jenna's favor, but it still helped alienating the twins and pushing them closer together.

It wasn't like their parents played favorites. They made all three children feel loved. Only it always felt like Elena was more fragile despite being the oldest. She seemed more sheltered, more guarded like at any given moment she could disappear. Like somehow there was a chance she would leave and be lost.

The twins noticed these things from a young age. They saw the differences in their parents' behavior. It never mattered to them though. They loved their big sister, they knew their parents loved them and they had each other.

Elena had always been their parents' special snowflake, while the twins had each always been one part of a whole. It was how their happy family functioned. It was how it was supposed to be.

All things considered, Lilly did understand her sister's reaction. Even Lilly herself had momentarily considered scolding Jeremy, for the use of a potentially deadly weapon at least, if not for the fight itself. It was a horrible thing to imagine, what could have, might have happened if not for the speedy intervention. Lilly felt chills go down her spine at the thought of Jeremy getting seriously hurt or seriously hurting someone else. He wouldn't have been able to deal with the latter and she wouldn't have dealt well with the former. So yes, this fight had been a fuck-up of epic proportions and Elena's anger wasn't altogether unreasonable.

That being said it had been obvious that Jeremy was in pain. Not only the physical pain of his injuries or the distress of being in a fight in the first place. There had been so much raw emotion, raw pain, showing on his face, that it cut into Lilly's soul. Why hadn't Elena been able to see this? Why couldn't she see that her brother needed his back covered more than he needed a tongue-lashing? It had been so obvious to Lilly. It actually couldn't have been more clear even if he'd written it on a sign for them to read.

Instead of being the responsible older sister she claimed to be, Elena had ripped into Jeremy without a second thought and that was what made Lilly so mad at her. Not the initial reaction, but the inability to take a step back from her own feelings and see the bigger picture.

Elena had probably felt embarrassed at everyone from school and a good part of the town's inhabitants seeing her intoxicated brother getting in a bloody fist fight with the mayor's son. Shouldn't her own reputation take a backseat to her brother's emotional state though? Lilly thought it should. The scolding should have waited until they were alone among family if Elena really felt the urgent need to add to Jeremy's plight. It never should have happened in public.

Lilly regretted getting physical with her sister and washing their dirty laundry in public. She didn't regret her words or the way she'd protected her twin. That had been perfectly justified and Elena would do well not to start that argument up again.

She had that part figured out, but she also had to contemplate her weird encounter with Damon. Why had he approached her tonight? She'd only briefly met him yesterday when she accidentally crashed her sister's dinner party. He had been very polite then and she couldn't deny that he was very good looking. But he radiated the bad boy charm that screamed to Lilly to stay away. She did not need any more complications in her life.

So then why had she almost kissed him tonight? He'd wanted her to, she was certain, but the reason was a mystery. He was with Caroline. Charming, beautiful, bubbly Caroline. Why would he want the younger sister of his brother's girlfriend? Maybe she'd misinterpreted the situation. She had been quite distressed after all.

But then why come to her in the first place? He'd seemed so genuine in his concern of her feelings. Nobody else had taken them into consideration and only Jeremy had an excuse. But had the concern been real or was it a ploy? Flirting with her – and that's what it came down to in Lilly's mind – was an odd way of comforting her, but was it calculated or accidental?

Zach's warning words flashed into her mind and she really couldn't be sure. He was with Caroline and he had seemed to want to kiss her, or had he?

Was he rude or clumsily considerate?

And what about Lilly's own feelings? He might have initiated it, but it had been her who almost kissed him. She couldn't honestly deny the draw she'd felt towards him.

Maybe it had just been her. He hadn't pursued her after she'd left…

Lilly really wasn't sure if she could trust her own feelings tonight. Too much had happened and there was too much chaos in her head. All the different, warring emotions made her feel dizzy.

Then there was Tyler. What had he been thinking? His anger management wasn't the best and lately he'd had increasingly more trouble keeping his temper in check. It was no wonder with a dysfunctional family like his. The choleric father with a tendency to lash out violently didn't help matters either.

But beating her brother to a bloody pulp? Almost hitting her, his best friend, in the process? At the moment Lilly felt inclined to label Tyler's behavior unforgivable. She also couldn't simply discard everything he'd ever done for her. Tyler had been her rock. Her steady, reliable companion. The only person beside her twin she could trust unconditionally. The one to always have her back.

Tyler had helped her through difficult times. Not only her parents' death but also during what came before that...She shuddered violently when the memories of that horrible night at the beginning of the year came up and forcefully pushed the images aside. She couldn't deal with this tonight, not on top of everything else. Tyler would have to wait.

With a defeated groan Lilly finally plopped onto her bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin. It had been a very long night and after mulling everything over in her head for the past hours she felt thoroughly exhausted. This was one of the nights when she missed her parents the most. They would have been able to solve the mess that was her life and untangle the knot forming in her brain.

* * *

Shortly after Lilly's breath evened out and she'd fallen asleep, a shadow entered her room through the window. It had been narrowed, but pushing a window up silently wasn't a challenge for a vampire.

Damon stepped closer to the sleeping form on the bed. His view wasn't impaired by the darkness. He could see everything clearly. While his gaze roamed over the sleeping girl's form he still wasn't quite sure what he was doing here. Feeding on or killing one of the inhabitants of the house would be so easy and he had threatened Stefan with the possibility. But that wasn't what drew him here tonight. Having Stefan afraid and unsure of his intentions was better for now and he could still make good on his threat later on.

His gaze settled on the girl's face. She looked even more innocent asleep, with her blonde locks fanned out on the pillow. Her rejection of his advances and more importantly his reaction to it hadn't left his mind. It had haunted him and not even the devastated look on his brothers face after he killed the useless excuse for a teacher had helped. Unable to stop himself he'd sought out the reason for his unsettled emotions.

His hand reached out to stroke Lilly's cheek. Her sigh was very low, not much more than a breath, when she nuzzled her face closer to the hand cupping her cheek. Damon chuckled silently. She was the sweetest thing even in her sleep. With a last gaze at the sleeping girl he rushed out of the window, not leaving a trace of his presence.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

The weekend had been tense in the Gilbert house. There had been way too much time for the siblings to avoid each other.

Jenna was oblivious to the tension between the kids. She noticed that there was no shared breakfast or keeping leftovers warm like on most other weekends. Usually Elena would set the table, followed by Jeremy and Jenna who'd gather pastries and make fresh orange juice. Lilly was usually late and Jeremy would set aside a meal for her. This weekend neither sibling bothered. There was no preset table and nobody came to add goodies. Jenna wondered but didn't spend too much time fussing over the issue. She was just glad the kids were busy with their hobbies. She had work to do for several college courses and with the kids occupied outside the house it was so much easier to concentrate on her studies.

Elena never lost the scowl on her face, but she didn't get the opportunity to admonish her younger siblings. Both Jeremy and Lilly kept eluding her.

Jeremy left the house at the crack of dawn and didn't return before nightfall, only to disappear into his room without telling anyone where he had been or what he was doing.

Lilly was lucky to have scheduled training. The gym was her respite from having to face her problems. She got there early and she put every ounce of energy into the routines her trainer had the girls practice. The physical exhaustion helped her blend out the emotional turmoil she had been in ever since the night of the game. She wasn't a step closer to figuring out how to handle Tyler's betrayal and she'd avoided her sister. Despite knowing that she couldn't block out her problems forever, she did her best to do just that. It was a pattern she easily fell back into. Training till exhaustion had been her go-to strategy after her parents died and it was her strategy now. Pushing until every muscle in her body screamed in agony was preferable to facing her chaotic emotions.

Unfortunately her coach was observant now. After she'd spent the summer abusing the sport until she fainted from exhaustion he wouldn't let her stay a moment longer than her teammates. She was forced to make due with the short time allotted to her.

Despite her trainers watchfulness Lilly managed to get more exercise. Slipping out of the house without anyone noticing was easy when you knew everyone's patterns. She snuck out of the house early for a morning run and did the same in the evening. She even overcame her loathing of early mornings to get out of the house before her sister could confront her. The runs combined with the training sessions allowed her to spend most of the day outside and she spend the rest of her time in her room citing homework as an excuse to skip meals.

Elena was annoyed with both her siblings for avoiding her, but there wasn't much she could do about it while both of them had valid reasons for their absence.

* * *

The following week wasn't much less tense than the previous weekend. The siblings still avoided each other, but at least they had school to occupy their time. Neither one of them wanted to worry their aunt Jenna, so they played nice and kept up pretenses for the young woman, but as soon as Jenna was out of sight they seamlessly returned to their hostile attitude towards each other.

Lilly's main concern in school was avoiding Tyler. It put quite a dent into her usual schedule. Now that she couldn't be with him, she noticed how much time she usually spent in his presence. If things were like they were supposed to be she would spend every break with him and share lunch with him and his team mates.

Walking into the cafeteria on the first day after the game was awkward. There was nobody to keep her a place in the queue, nobody to hold her tablet and she had no idea where to sit. Her usual place was out of the question since it was the table of the football team.

To Lilly's intense relieve one of her closer friends from the gym team had noticed her predicament and waved her over to her table. The gymnastics team often shared a table with people coming and going depending on their individual schedule. While Lilly wasn't a regular part of their lunch group, they still welcomed her as a team mate.

After the first few minutes of awkwardness were mastered, the girls got along swimmingly. Soon Lilly didn't even miss her regular group. She was used to rough shoving and rowdy jokes. The gossip of the girls was a welcome distraction.

* * *

While the first day was tense, the rest of the week past relatively carefree. Tyler and Lilly kept their distance from each other. Tyler was ridden with guilt and even in the best-case scenario it was very unlikely for him to make the first step. Lilly knew it was probably up to her to repair their strained friendship, but she wasn't ready to confront Tyler just yet.

The members of the football team quickly caught on to the tension between their quarterback and his favorite girl, but they were wise enough not to comment. They still greeted Lilly in the hallways with a handshake and the occasional hug, but otherwise kept their distance. Lilly didn't mind. She was glad nobody confronted her and was determined to enjoy the calm while it lasted.

Lilly's bubble of blissful ignorance was disturbed by one of her closer friends on the gym team. Ashley cornered her on the last school day before the founders ball. "So, I noticed you grew quiet every time one of us announced their date for the ball" she started her interrogation. "What's up with that? Who are you going with?"

Lilly groaned silently. She'd hoped by grinning and bearing her team mate's boasting she could avoid this particular talk, but while she fooled everyone else, Ashley was too perceptive for her own good. So Lilly had no choice but to tell the truce. "I'm not going with anyone. I'm not going at all."

Ashley gaped in outrage. "Why the hell not?"

While Lilly wasn't in the mood to dive into all of her personal problems she knew Ashley wouldn't give up until she got a satisfactory answer. "I would have gone as Ty's alibi date so he could sneak Vicky in" she relented. "So you see, I wouldn't have had a real date either way and these founders parties don't deserve the name. Real parties aren't that boring."

Ashley understood her friend's reasoning, but ignored the slight barb since she wasn't prepared to give up just yet. "Okay, Tyler's out of the race, but there's a queue of guys who'd love to take you. Surely you can find a suitable date among those?"

The news of Tyler and Lilly being at odds had made the round quickly which caused quite a few guys to take their chances and ask Lilly out, especially for the ball. Lilly was a pretty girl and she had a charming, open personality. Many single boys in the school – and some not-so-single ones – would love to take their chances with her. The only obstacle was Tyler, who could be quite intimidating. Not only was he the mayor's son, but also a triple letter varsity athlete with the whole football team backing him and it was no secret that he shielded the girl from any advances.

So Ashley's statement was true. With Tyler out of the equation the chances for a date stood a whole lot better. In theory. In reality Lilly rebuffed any and all attempts to ask her out. Clearly she wasn't interested in any one of them.

Realizing Ashley wouldn't let this go easily, Lilly finally responded with the truth. "Maybe, but I don't want to go" she stated simply which only caused her friend to raise a skeptic brow, so Lilly elaborated. "I don't want to face Ty. Bringing a date will surely summon him and I'm not ready yet." With a wry grin she added "It's not like I miss much. Those founder's parties are horribly stuffy. You only go to show your new boyfriend off."

This caused Ashley to grin widely. "Damn right, I'm showing him off." Lilly returned the grin. While she herself wasn't interested anymore, she was well aware that ensnaring one of the football players was something of a big deal and her friend had recently managed just that.

* * *

While Lilly sat at the dining table trying to write an essay for her literature class she couldn't help but overhear the conversation in the next room. Elena had brought home a box filled to the brim with old family heirlooms and was rooting through the items to find the pieces their mother had apparently promised Mrs Lockwood as a loan for some historical exhibit at the ball.

The heirlooms didn't hold much interest for the young girl, but Jenna interrupted her muttered rant about the news reporter speaking on TV to inspect the items Elena set aside for the exhibit. Unsurprisingly the older sister knew the background story to most of the pieces. This had been a thing between her and their mother. They both had been involved with the town's Historical Society and Elena had helped select the pieces that were to be displayed tonight.

Even Jeremy showed an interest when he joined the women on his way to the kitchen. "How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?" he questioned jokingly and Lilly suppressed a giggle. She knew he would never have the heart to sell something their parents held dear. Elena seemed to take him serious though. "You're not gonna find out!"

Hearing the reprimanding voice of her sister Lilly rose from her seat and joined them just in time to see Elena snatch an object from her brother's hand to add it to the pile on the table. Curiously Lilly approached to get a closer look. The item seemed familiar. She took the round golden object and examined it, remembering where she had seen it before. "Is that grandpa's pocket watch?" she questioned holding it out to her brother.

"Yeah" Jeremy confirmed with a solemn expression. "It is. He passed it down to dad." He took it from her outstretched hand and turned to Elena again. "This stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away!"

"I'm not giving it away." Elena snatched the watch away from him once again and dropped it in a separate box along with the other items that were intended for the exhibit. "It's called a loan, Jeremy!" She closed the box with a finality that made Lilly wrinkle her nose in disgust of the attitude, but Jeremy simply scoffed and turned around to disappear into the kitchen.

While Lilly still contemplated whether to protest or hold her peace the doorbell rang. Elena went to answer the door and Jenna walked away to return to cleaning, leaving Lilly alone with the heirlooms. She opened the box and stared at the pocket watch. She knew the significance of the item. It had belonged to one of their ancestors in the nineteenth century during the civil war.

Their grandfather enjoyed to regal the twins with fantastic stories about their courageous ancestor who captured a dangerous beast with the help of a magical device to save the citizens of Mystic Falls. As proof he'd shown them the pocket watch, which according to his claim was said magical item and was passed down to the eldest son of each generation to protect them from the beast. A soft smile played on Lilly's lips as her grandpa's words replayed in her head. As a small child she'd loved his stories and believed every word. Jeremy had too. Despite knowing that most of the story was little more than a fairy tale the watch still held significance and rightfully belonged to Jeremy as the first son.

Coming to a decision Lilly pricked her ears. She could hear Jenna messing around in the next room and listening closely she caught bits and pieces of a conversation between Elena and Stefan in the hallway before they ascended the stairs and disappeared in Elena's room. Jeremy was still busy in the kitchen if the opening and closing of cupboards was any indication, but he wasn't her concern anyway. She quickly grabbed the watch and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans. After closing the box again and making sure nothing looked out of place, Lilly raced to her room to find a good hiding place for the watch.

* * *

Lilly had been on her way downstairs to grab a snack when the doorbell rang. "I got it" she called out, since she was closest to the door.

When she opened the door to reveal Tyler she was hard pressed to close it in his face. She was nowhere near ready to forgive him and she hadn't been prepared to face him just yet. Tyler wasn't the type to confront his problems, so she expected him to keep his distance, for a while at least. Avoiding him at school had been easy enough so far. At one point or another she'd have to face him, but now wasn't that time. It wasn't supposed to be.

Before she could slam the door in Tyler's face Elena intervened and pulled the door open all the way. While Lilly was rendered speechless and could only glower at Tyler, Jeremy had no such inhibitions. He had been playing video games in the living room but came over when he sensed his sister's distress and was now scowling at the older boy from the doorway. "What's he doing here?" he questioned with obvious contempt.

Tyler ignored both Elena and Jeremy. His eyes were solely on Lilly when he spoke. "I'm here for my mom. I'm supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

Jeremy noticed the stare and he didn't need to be told to know his sister was uncomfortable with the situation. He wrapped an arm around his twin's shoulders and pulled her close to him. Lilly visibly relaxed into the embrace and leaned into his side.

They both watched their older sister hand the family heirlooms over and caution Tyler to be careful. "Yeah, be careful with it, dick." Jeremy couldn't help it, he had to voice the jab. And while Tyler's gaze flickered back to Lilly, she pressed her face into her brother's side to hide her emotions from the boy she'd considered her best friend for as long as she could remember.

"Hey! Not now guys! Okay?" Elena cautioned the boys, but not being able to tell what Lilly felt annoyed Tyler greatly so despite Elena's words he kept pressing.

"It's not me. He's just being a punk! Again." The words were spoken to Elena but meant for Lilly. Had Tyler been able to think it through he'd have realized that blaming her beloved twin wasn't the way back into Lilly's good graces. But Tyler didn't think it through. He wanted to make Lilly understand that he wasn't at fault. At least not entirely.

His words had the opposite effect. Lilly turned her face back to him and glowered. Jeremy took a step forward to put himself between his twin sister and the older boy. "You have some nerve saying that after..." he started, but Elena didn't give him the chance to finish.

She stepped in front of Jeremy and stopped him with an outstretched hand. "That's enough." Turning back to Tyler she added "Look Tyler, maybe you should go. Tell your mom that I'll see her tonight."

Tyler nodded and made to leave, but then he turned around to address the youngest Gilbert girl, who was still glowering at him. "Lils please, listen..."

He was rudely interrupted by Elena slamming the door shut. She leaned her back against the closed door and glared at the twins. "I get it guys, okay? But you need to control yourselves. We can't act like this."

Lilly and Jeremy scoffed in unison and turned away from the door. After Jeremy gave Lilly's shoulders an affectionate squeeze they both hurried upstairs and disappeared into their separate rooms. Elena watched them leave and let her head fall back against the door with a defeated sigh.

* * *

After an awkward phone call with Mrs Lockwood Elena barged into Jeremy's room. The boy was playing a video game and had headphones on to communicate with other players. With no regard to the going-ons of the game Elena hit the back of his head and yanked the headphones off "Where is it?!" she demanded angrily.

Jeremy turned around startled. "Ouch! What now?!" After recovering from the shock he glared up at his older sister. "Where is what?"

Elena wasn't swayed by her brothers apparent confusion. "The pocket watch. Where is it?" She urged again and made for his mouse and keyboard to check for herself. "If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your drugs?"

"What are you talking about? I don't have it." Jeremy pushed Elena back and away from his computer. "Are you mad? I would never sell mom and dad's stuff!" He stared up at his older sister in indignant irritation.

Elena paused her assault at her brother's irritated words. She had been so sure that he'd taken the antique after he voiced his objection to the loan earlier. The honest confusion on Jeremy's face made her falter now. "Mrs Lockwood called me. The watch is missing. If you didn't take it then how..." She trailed of when realization hit her. "Of course!" With that she marched out of Jeremy's room and towards Lilly's. Jeremy was hot on her heels.

Lilly sat on the floor with her back against the foot of her bed with school books surrounding her when Elena barged into the room without knocking. "You took it!" Elena accused. Lilly shot up startled. "Where is it?" Without waiting for an answer the older girl started opening and closing drawers frantically. "Where did you hide the watch?"

Jeremy made to interrupt his eldest sister's frantic search, but Lilly stopped him. With measured steps she walked to the side of her bed and bend down to lift the mattress. When she straightened up again she held a golden object in her hand. "Looking for this?"

When Elena glared at her and made to grab the watch, Lilly took a step back and hid it behind her back. Elena sighed and rolled her eyes. "Quit the nonsense, Lilly!"

Lilly shook her head and refused to give the watch up. "It's not yours" she exclaimed heatedly. "It goes to the firstborn son. Our ancestor gave it to grandpa and he gave it to dad."

Elena's shoulders slumped. "Dad was going to give it to Jer" she realized and Lilly nodded, slightly relaxing her defensive stance. "Look" Elena began again causing Lilly to glare and take a step back. "It's still his. It's just a loan."

The brunette held her hand out expecting Lilly to relent and hand the watch over, but the younger girl shook her head defiantly. "It's not your decision, 'Lena."

With an exasperated sigh Elena stormed out of the room. The twins grinned at each other and Lilly handed Jeremy the heirloom. "Thank you, sis" the boy whispered as he pulled his sister into an embrace. They hugged for a moment before Jeremy released Lilly and walked out without another word exchanged between them. Once again the twins didn't need many words to communicate with each other. Lilly smiled softly at the now again closed door where her brother had disappeared.

* * *

Several hours later, after the rest of the family had left for the founder's event, Lilly emerged from her room. She'd spent the better part of the day distracting herself with homework. Now she was caught up and in some cases even slightly ahead and still her mind wasn't at rest.

In truth she'd have very much liked to go to the founder's party. Those events were indeed very stuffy and pretentious, but her and Tyler always found a way to make them fun. Worst case scenario they would simply steal food from the buffet and sneak off to Tyler's room. True, this time Vicky was in the picture, but Lilly was sure they still could have made it work.

Instead she sat t home obsessing over the issue between them and no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't find a way out of her dilemma. She loved Tyler dearly, only rivaled by her love for her twin brother. They had been each other's confidant, protector and accomplice for as long as she could remember and she missed him. Every time she was ready to let bygones be and forgive him, his angry scowl and the sight of his fist raised to hit her flashed through her mind. She saw her brothers bloodied features and the utter defeat on his face.

Tyler had done the one thing she couldn't easily forgive. Her brother was off-limits and Tyler was well aware. Yet he didn't hesitate to beat him to a pulp and almost made her a casualty. Lilly wanted her best friend back, with all her heart. Only she couldn't see a way to let this go.

Whenever she got a reprieve from the circling madness of this dilemma Damon invaded her thoughts. She was still utterly confused by the encounter they had at the car. Not so much by his actions but her reaction to them. She couldn't make heads nor tails of this situation. Was she attracted to Damon? Sure, he was stunningly handsome and exuded an alluring bad boy charm. She would have to be blind not to see this. But pretty bad boys were a dime a dozen. Yet she wouldn't necessarily feel attracted to them, let alone feel the need to kiss one that was dating her friend. Especially after just scraping up her beaten brother from the ground. No matter how she looked at it, their encounter remained a mystery to Lilly.

Sick and tired of her own spiraling thoughts she grabbed one of their newer DVDs and approached Jeremy's room. She knocked before sticking her head through the half closed door to see if her brother was busy.

Jeremy was still engrossed in his game but when Lilly peeked around the door he pushed his headphones aside and waved her in. "What's up?" he questioned casually. Upon seeing his twin's timid smile he barked a few orders into his headphone in a jargon Lilly barely understood before he dropped the device altogether and turned to her fully.

That was all the prompting Lilly needed to wave the DVD case in front of his face. "Wanna watch Sherlock with me?" Jeremy gave a court nod and stood. They did watch many movies together and shared their favorites, but Jeremy didn't need a guide to read the signs. His sister might want to watch a movie, but most importantly she needed a shoulder to lean on while she sorted through her troubled thoughts.

An invitation to play a game or watch a movie together was a well used code between the twins. While sometimes they did enjoy to share the mundane activity, more often than not it was a disguised opportunity to gain the others support or affections. Jeremy could tell by his twin's expression that today was one of those days. She needed him. Whether she would divulge her troubles and share them with him or just use his presence as a steadying force while she sorted through her emotions by herself remained to be seen.

The twins descended the stairs together and settled in the living room on the biggest sofa that could easily accommodate both. Since Lilly was the one needing comfort Jeremy sat first and made himself comfortable, allowing her to curl up against him however she liked. This was a well practiced routine between them over the years. Whenever one of them needed a patient shoulder they would sit like this, allowing their distressed half to find comfort in the other.

They were watching an action movie they both enjoyed and it wasn't before the second half that Lilly first spoke. "I love him, you know" she whispered almost inaudibly and if Jeremy wasn't so attuned to her he would have missed it. "But I love you more."

It didn't take a genius to recognize who she was talking about. It was clear as day that the fight between Jeremy and Tyler bothered Lilly. The only surprise to Jeremy was that she didn't bring it up sooner. Lilly wasn't one to hold back. At least not with him. The fact that she did this time, was a clear indicator of the immense distress her internal debate cost her.

"I know" Jeremy simply replied. He had absolutely no doubt that his twin sister loved him and that he came before everyone else. It was mutual. Jeremy could forgive his friends a lot of transgression, but hurting his twin was the limit. So he knew how she felt. But he also knew how important Tyler was to her. "You need to forgive him."

Lilly shot up startled. "How can I?" she demanded angrily though there was no real ire behind the notion and Jeremy's only reaction was a raised brow and a crooked smile. She didn't expect the statement. Jeremy was madly angry at Tyler for his treatment of Vicky and on some level Lilly had expected that to take precedence over her feelings. Then again she was only slightly surprised by her brother's reaction. Once again their connection proved to be stronger than any outside influences.

"I will. Just not yet" she relented as she settled back against her brother's shoulder. "I don't know how."

That was something Jeremy couldn't help her with. His own antipathy to the guy was too strong to offer useful advice. It didn't matter much to Lilly. While she could use some practical advice, knowing that she had her brother's support was much more important. She would figure out the rest soon enough, now that one burden was taken from her.

The twins watched the rest of the movie in silence. With only a handful of words they'd managed to eliminate any possible issue between them. They both breathed easier now that they'd 'aired' their problems in their own unique way. Knowing that they had the other's support didn't make the problems go away, but it helped a great deal.

* * *

The credits to their movie had only just started running and the twins still sat on the couch with Lilly's head resting on Jeremy's shoulder and his arm wrapped tightly around her.

When the doorbell rang they shared a confused gaze. Neither one of the twins expected a guest and it was a little early for the rest of the family to be too drunk to remember that they had keys.

Reluctantly Lilly shrugged out of her brother's comforting embrace to answer the door. The confused scowl on her face was quickly replaced by an indulgent smile when she saw who rang. Vicky was standing on their porch, still in her evening gown and sporting a sheepish expression.

Lilly couldn't help the triumphant grin that spread her lips before she hastily turned around to call Jeremy to the door. While she didn't begrudge Tyler his happiness, she knew that he wouldn't dwell all too long on the heartbreak and loss of Vicky. Her twin however was on cloud nine.

Swallowing all the condescending barbs she'd prepared for Vicky, Lilly disappeared upstairs to give the pair some privacy. It was hard to refrain from telling both of them that she told them so and even harder to keep from threatening Vicky not to hurt Jeremy. In truth she was happy for them. Vicky wasn't a bad person and Jeremy was madly in love with her.

So Lilly made her way upstairs with a light heart. Jeremy just got what he wanted and he didn't begrudge her her best friend. Elena was smitten with Stefan, who turned out to be a really nice guy. Sooner or later Lilly would repair her friendship with Tyler and everything would turn out great.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

* * *

 **This chapter is rather on the short side and it's a bit of a filler. Sorry about that, but it's important for the progress of the story and gave me a chance to let you guys glimpse deeper into Lilly's personality. In the next chapter Lilly will find out something substantial and there will be more action. I promise.**

 **Thank you so much for all the new favs and follows.**

 **Special thanks to n1ghtdr34m3r. Your review made me smile and I agree with you on almost all points. You have my OC figured out pretty well and I don't think you will be disappointed with the progress of the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

Lilly groaned when she silenced her alarm for the third time. This was her limit, she knew. If she hit the snooze button any more times she would be late for school. Knowing this didn't make getting up any easier. Oh how much she hated early mornings.

Her rigorous routine of early morning runs ended after two days. She had tried. Really. It wasn't her fault that mornings didn't agree with her. She just wasn't an early bird. Let the other birds get the worm. What did she care.

Chuckling lightly at her ridiculous thoughts she stumbled into the shared bathroom, not bothering to knock. Jeremy would most likely already be downstairs so why bother. This morning however the room was occupied.

Lilly gave a startled gasp when her bleary eyes focused on Vicky who had a toothbrush in her mouth and looked at Lilly like a deer caught in headlight.

After hastily spitting out the toothpaste Vicky turned back to Lilly who still stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and unmoving. Her dozy mind was unable to compute the sight before her. Jeremy wasn't a saint, he'd had girls over before. But this was the first time in Lilly's life that she found someone other than her twin brother in their shared bathroom.

If her mind was fully alert she would have known how to react. She would have graciously left the room and busied herself elsewhere until her brother's guest was finished. But her mind wasn't alert. She was still halfway asleep like on most mornings. In her drowsy state she could only stare and open and close her mouth helplessly like a fish out of water.

"I...I'm sorry. I'm almost done" Vicky told her and when Lilly still didn't respond or move she added "I...I can leave. Do...Do y...you need the bathroom urgently?" The situation was no more comfortable to Vicky than it was to Lilly. Neither girl expected to find someone in the bathroom or be interrupted.

The direct question finally snapped Lilly out of her dazed state. "No! I...uh...you can…" she stammered before getting her bearings. "It's fine. Take your time. I'll come back when you are finished." With as much of a reassuring smile as she could muster Lilly turned on her heels and left the room, but on impulse she turned around to face Vicky once more. "I'm glad you and Jeremy are happy. Good morning Vicky." With that she left and shut the door behind her.

Standing at the closed door with her hand still on the door handle Lilly shook her head at the awkwardness. A small, timid grin slowly made it's way on her face. Vicky and Jeremy. Jeremy and Vicky. She liked it. It could work, she was optimistic. Either way, her brother was happy right now and that was...great. Yeah, like she thought last night, everything would turn out great.

With a determined nod to herself Lilly grabbed some fresh clothes for the day and made her way to Elena's bathroom to get washed and dressed. Elena looked confused when her little sister barged in to walk into her bathroom, but when she was questioned Lilly only winked at the brunette and mouthed 'Vicky', before disappearing behind the closed door.

When Lilly made it downstairs for coffee she caught the tail end of a conversation between Elena and Jenna. They were talking about Jeremy. She wasn't surprised by the topic of conversation, only the judging tone in both women's voices irked her.

Who were they to talk? Elena used to sneak Matt into her room on a regular basis. Lilly knew because her and Jeremy had to cover for their older sister on a few occasions. And from what Lilly had heard and seen of Jenna, the aunt certainly wasn't a saint either.

So instead of wishing them a good morning Lilly gave both women a stare and pointedly said "Jeremy is happy." For her the nonchalant statement was self-explanatory. Her brother finally got a glimpse at happiness after being depressed for so long. He deserved it and shouldn't need his family's approval.

Lilly missed the glance her sister and aunt exchanged while she poured herself a coffee. She leaned her back against the counter clutching the cup between her hands and taking small sips. Soon her brain would be fully alert. The shock of Vicky in her bathroom had done a good job at waking her up, but it was still early morning and the caffeine was welcome.

"I get that and I wish him all the happiness in the world" Elena started, snapping Lilly out of her silent enjoyment. She narrowed her eyes at her sister, already expecting the objection and it quickly came. "But Vicky…."

Lilly lifted her hand in a motion to stop Elena and the older sister obliged. "Jeremy. Is. Happy!" She slowly reiterated, emphasizing each word. Why couldn't they just let it go? Sure, Vicky might not be the best choice with her drug addiction, but Jeremy wasn't going to marry her right this second. She made him happy and she wasn't a bad person, so why not just let him enjoy his happiness? It was all very clear in Lilly's mind.

Elena rolled her eyes theatrically but she let the topic drop and Lilly once more submerged herself into her coffee cup. The following discussion about aunt Jenna's love life didn't hold her interest.

* * *

Lilly was walking along the hallways of the highschool with her friends. Ashley and Heather were chatting about the founder's ball. Apparently they both had enjoyed the evening and couldn't stop gushing about their dates.

Listening to the fun the two girls had at the event Lilly felt a stab of sadness. Usually she would be participating in the conversation, telling her friends of all the fun things her and Tyler had been up to. Today she was forced to silently listen to the two and wish she had been there with them. She didn't begrudge them their joy and she had enjoyed movie night with her twin, but it still stung a little. Being left out wasn't a feeling she was used to.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called her name from behind. "Lilly, wait up" Caroline shouted and when Lilly turned around the older girl was stalking towards her with long strides, the blonde curls bouncing with every step. "I've been looking for you!"

Lilly sighed under her breath. She had a good idea what Caroline wanted from her which was why she'd purposely avoided the bubbly cheerleader all day long. She should probably have known better than to assume she could get away with it.

"I wanted to remind you of the sexy suds car wash fundraiser. You need to wear a bikini. Two-piece, not a one-piece suit." Caroline rambled on, not noticing the increasingly apprehensive expression on Lilly's face. "I want in your face sexy and you can totally pull it off. Most of the gym team is there and the cheerleading squat of course. I recruited the band too. Those who can pull off a swim suit at least..."

"Caroline..." Lilly held a hand up to try and interrupt her friend, who looked startled. The cheerleader hadn't really expected an answer, she was already back in planning mode and Lilly's agreement had been just a formality in the blonde's mind.

"I'm not participating". Caroline looked like Lilly had slapped her rather than simply denying a request. "I don't do sexy half-naked flaunting, you know that." The last part was spoken imploringly.

"But you can totally pull it off..." Caroline objected halfheartedly, understanding where this was leading. This discussion was as old as dirt. Lilly had never been comfortable showing off her body, which was the main reason why she refused to join the cheerleading squat despite her abilities and the extra training opportunities. The skimpy uniforms just didn't agree with her. Her negative experiences with the opposite gender at one party had just solidified Lilly's conviction. She wouldn't showcase her body.

"Look, Dylan isn't here anym…." Caroline started her motivational speech and Lilly cringed in apprehension. That was one topic she didn't want to discuss. She didn't even want to think off it.

Thankfully they were interrupted by Tyler before the blonde could finish her statement. Apparently Tyler had been listening in on their conversation while speaking with his teammates.

"Hey Care!" The muscular jock jogged over to them, almost bumping into Caroline in the process. He lifted his arms in an apology as if it had been an accident, but Lilly knew better. They had used this trick together before.

Still, it worked without fault. Before Caroline could gather her wits, Tyler had her caught up in a conversation. All thoughts of Lilly's participation forgotten, for now. "I wondered if we could discuss the team's involvement in the fundraiser" Tyler added, effectively snapping the trap close.

Tyler winked at Lilly over Caroline's shoulder and the girl couldn't help but smile in return. Her best friend had saved her from a very unpleasant conversation, despite their differences. It didn't make their problems disappear and Lilly's smile soon froze when the relief faded and she understood the situation.

She was thankful for the save. Or the distraction, rather. But could she forgive? Lilly still didn't know and decided to use the opportunity for an escape rather than dwell on could-be's.

* * *

Lilly was on her way to the Salvatore boarding house to visit her friend Zach. Her eyes fell to the silver bracelet on her wrist. It had been too long since she'd seen him and after he'd given her such a personal gift she was feeling a little bad for not giving him more attention.

During the summer she had been over to the boarding house often. Sometimes several times a week. Since school had started again she hadn't visited him once. He undoubtedly understood that she was busy with lessons, homework and training now. If he was aware his young friend felt guilty for not seeing him sooner, he would probably wave her worries away and encourage her to spend more time around people her age instead of someone as old as him. Lilly knew this would be his reaction. In truth though, she missed spending time with him, she missed their discussions and she missed the peace she always felt around his calm, reserved personality.

The past days had given her ample time to do her homework and study ahead. All the hours she'd spent hidden away in her room avoiding her sister paid off now. With the car wash event everyone else was busy and nobody would miss her. The free afternoon was the perfect opportunity to visit her friend.

The large old building was on the edge of town, quite a walk from her home. Usually she would have asked her sister for a ride, but given their strained relationship as of late she didn't think it would be a good idea for them to be in a confined space for any length of time.

Lilly didn't mind the walk. Thanks to the fundraiser today's training was canceled. So she donned her running outfit and turned the way into a little extra exercise. When she arrived at the boarding house she'd barely worked up a sweat so she'd have to take the scenic route back to at least get some use out of the distance. Still, she used the warm muscles for some stretching in the drive way. Flexibility was important for her gymnastics routines and doing the stretching with warm muscles was always better than doing it cold.

After she was done with her drill she walked up to the door and pulled the string on the old fashioned bell. Instead of waiting for Zach to answer, she tried the door handle. Unsurprisingly the door wasn't locked, so she walked right in. Like most everyone else in their small town Zach never locked his front door either and he'd repeatedly told Lilly that she was welcome any time. She usually just entered, ringing the bell was just a courtesy to alert him to her presence.

The heavy oaken door closed behind her with an audible thud. For as many times as she'd been here, the dark and stuffy atmosphere of the boarding house still felt a little eerie to Lilly. She doubted she'd ever get used to the place.

"Hey Zach" she called as she walked deeper into the house, expecting to see her friend emerging from one of the rooms at any moment. She made it to the parlor without hearing or seeing any signs of the man.

Hesitating in the doorway she looked around. Her entrance hadn't been silent, so if Zach was in the building he should have heard her by now, but there was no sign of him. Not feeling like searching the many rooms of the boarding house she pricked her ears for a hint of his whereabouts.

What she expected were footsteps or maybe a call to come upstairs if Zach was busy somewhere in the house. What she heard instead made a chill run down her spine. The noises were faint and muffled, but they clearly sounded like someone was groaning in pain.

Lilly looked around once more, alarmed now, and she noticed something unusual. The door to the basement was ajar and the lights were on. She'd never been down there. She knew most every other room of the huge building, but the cellar was usually locked and there had never been a reason for her to explore down there.

Slowly she pulled the door open and peered down the stairs. "Hello?" she called down. "Zach? Are you here?" Her voice sounded shaky even in her own ears, but she couldn't help it. This basement was creepy and the weird noises didn't help.

She couldn't see far into the basement. The stairs bent around a corner, allowing her to see no further than the opposite wall. The strange sounds were louder now. Someone was in severe pain down there if the moaning and groaning was any indication. Maybe Zach fell and hurt himself. Stefan had picked Elena up for the fundraiser earlier and Damon left town. It had to be her friend down there.

"Zach?" She called again, worry clear in her voice now. "Are you okay?" The moaning got even louder, but there still wasn't an answer. Hesitatingly Lilly climbed down the stairs. If her friend was in trouble she had to help him, no matter how creepy this basement was.

A few steps into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs Lilly still couldn't see her friend, but she noticed a heavy metal door with a barred window like in an old fashioned prison. With bated breath she approached the door and got on her tip-toes to peer through the bars. What she saw made her gasp loudly and stumble back.

There was a figure lying on the floor. A sickly looking human with a tuft of black hair was lying on the dirty floor. "Oh my god" Lilly panted with her back to the opposite wall.

She heard shuffling in the room. No, not room. It was a cell. A medieval prison cell or straight out of some horror movie. Why did a boarding house have a dungeon in the basement? And more importantly why would anyone actually imprison a person here?

When the shuffling sounded closer Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat and approached the barred window again. The sight before her almost made her scream. Only her own hand on her mouth prevented her from crying out when her wide eyes met Damon's tired ones.

"D..Damon?" she stuttered in shock. "W..What...why...huh?!" Her brain wasn't able to form a coherent question as she took him in. He looked sick. His skin had an unnatural gray-ish tint and he seemed to have aged decades since she last saw him. She braced her hands flat against the door as she stood on her toes to get a clear look into the cell. Her mouth stood slightly open and her eyes were wide. The sight before her was so outlandish she had a hard time believing this wasn't a strange dream.

"Lilly..." Damon rasped in a voice that sounded old and like...he had spend weeks in the desert without water. He seemed slightly disturbed by her presence, like he'd expected someone else, but it didn't deter him for long. "Let me out...please…" he mumbled as he all but fell against the door. "Open the latch..." His hands grabbed onto the bars to steady him and keep him upright.

The desperate plea snapped Lilly out of her shock. "Of...of course" she stammered as she grabbed the old rusty latch and pulled. This was barbaric. No matter what reasons Damon's captors had for locking him up, this was not the way to do it. They could solve their problems verbally, without a medieval torture chamber, Lilly was sure.

Before she could unlock the door, however, a new voice startled both her and the imprisoned man. "Damon?" Caroline walked down the stairs with a far-away look on her face. Her eyes were slightly unfocused like she was in a trance and her movements seemed jerky, almost robotical. She didn't even seem to notice Lilly's presence when she approached the door and peered through the opening.

Lilly watched the following conversation like she would a movie. She felt strangely detached from the scene before her and the words that were spoken sounded foreign to her. Vervain? Bites? Mind control? None of this made any sense whatsoever.

Sufficiently weirded out by the conversation and wanting the madness to end Lilly gave the latch a hard tug. The door unlocked the same moment as Zach bundled down the stairs, shouting "No! No, no, no! Run!"

Caroline didn't hesitate. She turned and rushed up the stairs. Lilly was too stunned to run. She merely stumbled a few steps back when Zach roughly pushed her aside in an attempt to lock the door again. She watched in horrified shock how Zach and Damon fought for the door. The struggle didn't last long. Damon soon overpowered the human and the door slammed open, causing Lilly to stumble back further.

With a vicious jerk Damon snapped Zach's neck and pushed him back into the cell before he raced after Caroline without another glance for either the terrified girl or his victim. Lilly yelped in shock, but not loud enough to drown out the resounding crack of Zach's spine and the thud when his body met the floor.

Damon didn't seem to hear her and Lilly didn't spare him another thought while her friend's fall played over and over in mind in slow motion. The crack seemed to echo in the dim hallway, coming from all sides at once in a gruesome crescendo. She knew her friend was dead. On some level she knew. The loud crack when the bone in his neck broke was clear enough. It was impossible to survive something like this. Yet Lilly had to check.

Zach's upper body was in the cell while his legs stuck out beyond the doorway. Lilly was forced to step over his body into the cell where she dropped to her knees to frantically check his pulse. "Zach, Zach, wake up, Zach!" she cried over and over again while her hands nervously fluttered all over his upper body repeatedly checking his breathing and every single pulse point to no avail.

"No, no, no!" Her voice broke as tears sprung from her eyes. "Zach please!" In an equally hopeless and desperate attempt to get the man to wake up she started to perform the CPR routine she'd been taught in a gymnastics training camp a few summers ago. She blew air into his nose and pumped his chest while pleading with him to open his eyes. Sweat started to build on her forehead from the excercise, but she didn't stop.

She kept repeating the process as if in a frenzy with no idea how long she'd been at it. It could be minutes, it could be hours. Her muscles hurt, her breath came in pants and the hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. She was thoroughly exhausted.

"Zach! Don't do this. Please. You have to wake up. Zach please!" Her pleads turned into soft whimpers when she couldn't go anymore and finally realized her friend wouldn't wake up again, not ever. He was gone.

* * *

Damon swore loudly. The stupid little cheerleader had escaped his grasp and disappeared into the sunlight where he couldn't follow.

He cursed his weakness. If he was at his full strength she never would have gotten away. She never would have made it out of the basement.

He cursed Stefan for locking him up and making him so weak. If he didn't hate his brother already, being locked up and starved to desiccate surely made him do so now.

He cursed his good-for-nothing nephew for growing the vervain and showing it to Stefan. Without that his coward of a brother never would have had the means to lock him up.

He cursed the girl in the basement for tempting him. Her blood had always smelled sweet and appealing, but right now it smelled so damn good it made his mouth water.

Frustrated he went into the parlor and poured himself a drink. It wasn't what he craved. That was out there in the sun, but for now he was stuck here and the alcohol would hopefully help to tide him over until nightfall when he could venture out to hunt. And hunt he would. He planned on gorging on blood, eating as many people as it took to find one that tasted as sweet as the girl in the basement smelled.

When he'd first been freed his predatory instincts made him go after Caroline. He'd been more monster than person at that moment and his instincts told him to give chase. In the animal mind the prey that ran was always better than the one that stayed. Only healthy food could attempt to flee.

Ironically it was his inner monster that saved Lilly's life.

Though now, with a clearer mind, she was a perfectly easy meal just waiting to be devoured. So why didn't he? All he had to do to quench the fire in his throat was walk down the steps. But he was strangely hesitant. The girl had freed him. Of her own will, unlike Caroline who he'd summoned with his mind compulsion. The image of her bloodless, dead body at his feet made him squirm internally. It was an odd feeling, similar to what he felt after he tried to compel her at the football game.

With an irritated groan he launched his empty glass into the fireplace and turned to stalk upstairs. He decided not to look deeper into whatever it was that kept him from eating Lilly. Feelings were overrated and he had things to do. A shower and fresh clothes to get rid of the grime from his imprisonment was first on the list and it wasn't long til sundown.

* * *

Lilly had lost all track of time. She'd been kneeling next to Zach's lifeless body for a long time, but how long exactly she didn't know nor did she care. She felt numb.

Her tears had long tried. After crying over Zach's dead body for hours she'd eventually just run out of tears. Probably at about the same time her legs lost any feeling from sitting in the same cramped position for hours.

She'd been occupied remembering all their fun times together. She had to try and concentrate on the good. It was the only way not to drone in her grief. If only Jeremy could be here with her. He might not have had a connection with Zach, but he'd understand her pain. Sharing the problem with her twin always made it less daunting. But Jeremy wasn't here. She was on her own. No Jeremy. Certainly no Zach. She was all alone...

In her dazed state she missed Stefan rushing down the steps. She hadn't heard his footsteps or the horrified gasp when he discovered Zach's lifeless corpse.

Stefan hadn't seen Lilly kneeling next to the corpse. He only went downstairs to confirm the suspicion he had when seeing the drained bird upon entering the house. If he'd been more aware of his surroundings Lilly's steady heartbeat would have sounded clear in his ears, but he was devastated by his discovery and dashed back upstairs without investigating further.

Lilly was completely unaware of his presence and remained undisturbed. Her mind was busy making sense of the scene that led to her friend's death. No matter how often she saw it happening in front of her inner eye, it still didn't make sense.

Damon's state when she found him didn't make sense. He looked dead, yet he had been standing and talking. How could that be? Why was he down here in this horrible cell?

Caroline's appearance didn't make sense. She was in some sort of trance. She'd hardly noticed Lilly, let alone acknowledge her. The blond cheerleader had many flaws, but a lack of manners wasn't one of them. She usually would have greeted Lilly, would have wondered what she did here. Hell, she would have had some explanation for her own presence in this completely unrealistic scenario. And most importantly she wouldn't have run off without a second glance, chased by...by what?

Lilly had seen the transformation in Damon. One second he looked human. Sickly gray, tired and ill, but clearly human. The next second he looked like a monster from nightmares. His eyes were red, there were dark veins under his eyes and he grew...fangs.

She'd discarded this idea as a trick of her mind at first, but no matter how often she replayed the scene in her head, it remained the same. She'd clearly seen the fangs and bloodshot eyes when he killed Zach and chased after Caroline.

Fear spread through her when she connected the dots. She remembered her grandfathers stories. Stories that seemed fantastic, but matched with the journals of her ancestor that she found in her dad's library. They had still seemed fantastic even when she found a second source. The hallucinations of a sick man turned into stories for children.

Now she'd seen proof with her own eyes. Damon's appearance matched the features of the monster in her grandpa's stories and the description in her ancestor's journal. She wanted to deny it, she tried to. But Zach was lying dead in front of her and she'd seen Damon's face clearly.

There was no denying it. Vampires were real. And Damon was one of them.

She'd been stuck on that thought in an endless loop. She tried to deny it, find another explanation. Something reasonable that didn't make her doubt her own mental health. But short of having somehow been drugged there was nothing else. And drugs couldn't explain the corpse. Everything came down to the same conclusion.

A corpse. Oh god. She was kneeling next to a dead man. Zach was dead, dead, dead. A fresh wave of tears threatened to fall as the realization hit her anew. She would never visit him for a chat again, never again enjoy the peace of reading together in his library and he would never ever lecture her again on spending more time with people her own age.

Lilly had been so absorbed by her thoughts that she entirely missed the footsteps on the stairs. She wasn't aware of Damon approaching and watching her from the doorway. She missed the frown-lines on his forehead when his eyes wandered over her hunched form, studied the tear tracks on her cheeks and took in the haunted look in her eyes.

"Time to get up." When Damon stepped into her line of sight and spoke up, Lilly let out an undignified squeak of surprise and scrambled backwards until she hit the wall of the prison cell. Her first urge had been to jump up, but her numb legs refused to cooperate. She'd been in the same kneeling position for so long that the feeling in her limbs returned only slowly.

Ignoring Lilly for now, Damon lifted Zach's corpse with ease and moved him onto the cot in the corner of the cell, out of the way. His movements were methodical and he handled the body without much care. Lilly watched in terrified horror.

When the doorway was free Damon turned his attention back to the scared girl. As soon as his gaze fell on her, Lilly scrambled to her feet, using the wall for support since her legs were still shaky. She stared at the man with wide, horrified eyes, pressing her body against the wall behind her.

She looked like she wanted to disappear into the wall and in all honesty she did. This man...vampire terrified her. He'd killed her friend, his relative, in front of her and chased Caroline. There was no telling what he would do to her.

He reached his arm out towards her, offering her his hand. "Come on. Let's get you upstairs."

Lilly's eyes widened even more and her breath became ragged. She stared between his hand and his face. At the moment his face looked human. Stunningly handsome, but clearly human. But she couldn't get herself to move. Zach's death and Damon's monstrous face kept flashing in front of her eyes.

Fed up with waiting Damon took a step towards Lilly, causing her to whimper in fright and press her back further against the wall. Her eyes darted towards the door, but there was no way she'd make it past the creature in front of her. Even if he wasn't supernatural he would easily catch her.

Damon rolled his eyes at the girl's behavior. "It's a little late to run now. Come on." He was right. If she wanted to run she had ample opportunity during however long she sat down here. Trying it with the predator right in front of her would be beyond useless. Staying here after she understood what Damon was had been stupid. She should have run when she had the chance. These musings didn't help with her current predicament though.

Quickly running out of patience Damon simply grabbed Lilly's wrist and dragged her upstairs. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl suspected that there was an unspoken 'not yet' at the end of this sentence, but no amount of struggling got her out of the vampire's grip. She had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Damon was agitated.

The sight of the grief-stricken girl on the floor did strange things to him. Those pesky feelings were surfacing again. At the most inopportune moment, too. To make it worse the lost look in her eyes made her seem even more fragile and innocent than usual. Damon had to fight the urge to wipe those tears away and pull her close.

Her reaction when he made his presence known, though, was like a slap in the face. The utter terror on her face wasn't surprising. He was used to fear. It was a natural instinct when people figured out that he was the monster of nightmares and usually he relished it. In fact it was a fun little game. He liked to scare his prey. Then ease their fears and make them trust him before he struck. Their terror when they realized their mistake was so very entertaining. His favorite little trick of lying in the middle of a deserted road accomplished that goal every single time. He simply loved it. But not this time.

Watching those particular eyes widen in fright and seeing her face flushed with panic was...unpleasant. The fearful whimpers tugged on his heartstrings. He didn't want her to fear him. He wanted to see her brilliant smile directed at him. And he hated the wave of guilt that hit him, because in all reality her reaction was completely unsurprising. Why wouldn't she fear him after he vamped out in front of her and murdered his relative. She should be afraid.

And he should just eat her and be done with it. Now that he was sated it was easy to ignore the pull of her sweet blood, but the scent was still there. He had a tasty little snack in his grasp. One who made him react quite strangely and lose focus of his goals.

Instead of ridding himself of several problems at once by sinking his fangs in Lilly's neck, he found himself telling her that he wouldn't hurt her. What a load of crap. Of course he would hurt her. He was a vampire and she was very breakable. It was kind of inevitable.

Oh well, there would still be time for that later when she'd unavoidably piss him off.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait. I suffered a phase of writers block. Hopefully it's gone now.**

 **Thank you so much for your support. Well over a hundred of favorites and follows. That's really overwhelming and I'm so grateful to all of you. I hope you enjoy the update and keep the reviews comming. Even if you don't like my story, I appreciate if you tell me why.**

 **This time I experimented a bit. There is more POV-switching than before. I felt like I had to bring Damon's point of view forward, too.**

 **Do you like this? Do you want me to switch POVs and show you Damon's inner workings or would you prefer to see mostly Lilly's perspective? Please let me know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Let me go!" Lilly begged weakly. Her voice was scratchy and raw from all the crying she'd done and speaking hurt her throat. Yet she had to try. Although she didn't expect any positive results. She was almost certain that she was facing her imminent death.

Damon dragged Lilly up the stairs into the parlor and non too gently shoved her into a plush armchair. "Sit" he commanded before he went over to the side table to fix himself another drink. After a moment of hesitation he grabbed a second glass and filled that too.

His back was turned to her, but Lilly didn't doubt for a moment that he was aware of her every move. She eyed the hallway and contemplated the distance to the front door before her shoulders slumped in defeat. She'd never make it. She'd seen how fast Damon could move even when he looked like death. There was no telling what he could do now. Enhanced abilities were a thing, right?

To her surprise when he turned around again he held a glass of water out to her. She eyed it wearily for a moment, till common sense won over skepticism. Her dry throat burned fiercely. She barely suppressed a moan when she gulped the cool water down greedily.

With a stoic face Damon took the emptied glass from her and filled it once more. "Thank you" Lilly whispered when he handed it to her to which he only nodded before taking care of his own drink.

Lilly eyed the man in front of her carefully. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him for longer than a second since he entered the basement, but that was out of fear and self-preservation. She needed to keep track of his movements to anticipate an attack. Now she really looked at him.

He'd fixed his drink and was facing the fireplace, occasionally taking sips from an amber liquid that Lilly assumed was some sort of alcohol. Lilly could see his face clearly enough and there was no sign of the monster now. No fangs, no creepy dark veins. There was nothing terrifying about his appearance right now. He was just a man at the moment.

"You look better" she blurted out before she could stop herself. It was true though. The sickly gray tint to his skin was gone and there were no dark shadows under his eyes anymore. His posture was confident again now, too, not like he would collapse any moment. The clean clothes helped as well. Any trace of the pitiful image in the cell was gone and he again looked like the handsome man she'd met at her sister's dinner party.

If she didn't know better she would think that image in the cell was a trick of her mind. A miraculously fast recovery like this couldn't actually be true. But she did know better. Dead people couldn't lie and she'd spent enough time next to Zach's corpse to know it was real.

Damon's answering smirk gave her the chills. "I know! I'm irresistible." When Lilly didn't respond and only pulled her legs up on the seat of the plush chair to wrap her arms around them, his smirk dropped. "I ate" he simply stated.

"Shouldn't it be 'drank'?" Lilly's mouth ran away with her again before her mind could catch up. She flushed a bright red when she realized what she just insinuated and began to stutter. "I mean...I...cause...it's, you know...blood is a fluid..." She trailed off helplessly when she realized her attempt at clarification didn't make it any better and she sunk deeper into her chair in fear of a violent reaction.

Damon, however, genuinely smiled. This girl was entertaining. "There's no need to be shy about it." With his signature smirk firmly in place again he sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs. "I drink blood. You can talk about it."

Lilly was flustered and tried to look anywhere but at the vampire that was mustering her with that smug smirk of his. Her eyes finally fell to the couch next to her, or more importantly to the unconscious person laying on it. "Oh my god!" She jumped up and moved over to the girl. "Vicky? What...oh my god!"

Her hands had been fluttering around uselessly until she moved the girl's hair away from her face and neck. If she'd had any doubt left that Damon really was a vampire it evaporated in this moment. The puncture marks on Vicky's neck were a clear indicator. At least they were with all the other evidence. She remembered seeing those same puncture marks before at the back-to-school-party at the falls. It all fell into place now.

Vicky's miraculous injuries, all the inexplicable disappearances and the savage animal attacks...it had been Damon all along.

"Is she..." Lilly stumbled back in shock until she bumped into Damon, who'd risen from his chair. She whirled around and on facing him backed up again until she hit the edge of another armchair and fell right into it. "Is she...going to be a..."

"Vampire?" Damon filled in upon her hesitation, then shook his head. "No, becoming a vampire is an involved process of which she is missing vital parts." The shocked and doubtful look on Lilly's face made him continue. "She lost a lot of blood, but she is just unconscious. She will be fine."

"She can't die! Matt..." Lilly trailed off again. Why tell him about Vicky's family situation? He surely wouldn't care. This blood loss he spoke of was surely due to him. He'd used Vicky as his personal take-out, so why would he suddenly care now? How was she going to explain this to Matt? To Jeremy and Tyler? She felt the familiar stinging in her eyes, but apparently she was all cried out, no tears would fall.

When Damon heard Lilly's broken sob and saw her shaking her head in denial, he sighed. "I'm so gonna regret this" he muttered before biting his wrist and pressing it to the unconscious girl's lips. "There you go" he mumbled when the girl started to swallow his blood after a few moments. "Drink up."

Lilly watched in horror as Damon bit his own wrist and pressed it to Vicky's mouth. She was stunned by the curious sight for a long moment before she jumped up. Without thinking she charged at Damon and yanked his arm away from her brother's lover. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving her" Damon stated in a clipped tone. She only noticed that she still held his arm in her grasp when he yanked it away and moved his wrist to his lips to lick off the remaining blood. Lilly stumbled a step back when she lost grasp of his arm, but didn't move away. "My blood heals" he elaborated upon seeing the disbelieving look on her face.

Lilly dropped back into her chair and pulled her legs up to wrap an arm around them in a futile protective gesture. She had no doubt this man could end her with a mere flick of his wrist, but apparently for now he didn't want to. She had a lot of questions and if she was going to die she might as well do it after satisfying her curiosity.

She tried to sort through the mess in her head, but it was a futile effort. She was scared, confused and shocked. There was no making sense of her own mind. Maybe, if she lived, there would be time for this later. Right now she needed to just ask whatever she could think of. Figuring this out, she blurted out the first question that came to her mind. "What time is it?"

Damon's lips twitched in amusement. That was her first question when faced with the supernatural? She sure was an odd little creature. He had expected her to ask about vampires, how it was possible, if garlic was repellent to him, if he slept in a coffin and all the usual superstitious crap people came up with when given the opportunity. Instead she wanted to know the time, the most mundane thing she could possibly come up with. Would she inquire about the weather next? "It's almost 7am. The sun just about came up."

That stunned her back into silence. Had she really spent the whole night kneeling next to Zach's corpse in a damp cellar? She knew she'd sat there for a long time but could it really be this long? That sure would explain why she felt so drained. She'd lost all sense of time down there, she could not even take an educated guess herself. Her eyes darted around the room briefly for a clock, but she knew the antique grandfather clock stood on the wall behind her and she did not yet trust the vampire enough to turn her back on him. The thick curtains did not allow any light in, so without any means to confirm his statement she would just have to take his word for it, for now.

There were still more pressing questions. As soon as she thought that the next question that came to mind spilled out of her mouth. "Why where you locked up down there?"

Damon froze for a second. His eyes darkened a fraction and his features seemed to harden. Apparently his time down in the cell wasn't a pleasant memory. For a moment he looked dangerous – human dangerous, not monstrously dangerous like before - but he recovered fast. "My brother locked me up. My grand-nephew helped him."

Lilly nodded as if she understood, but she really didn't. Her brain was working at half steam at best and she really wanted a nap to sort through the mess that was her head. There were so many thoughts, so many ideas, so many realizations running rampant in her brain. Everything she ever believed in was tipped upside-down and she didn't know how much more she could take.

She really wanted to ask about Zach. Why did he have to die? What part did he play in a scheme to imprison his...uncle? The familial relations threw her for a loop again. They weren't nephews and uncle like she'd thought...well they were, but the other way around? Damon had mentioned his grand-nephew. Unless there were more people involved in this craziness he had referenced Zach. So they were uncles and nephew some generation removed? It boggled the mind.

Why would Zach want to lock his...relative up? He'd charged down the stairs and towards the door of the cell in an urgency she had never expected from her usually stoic friend. Why? She winced as she replayed the horrible noise of his neck breaking. The questions were at the tip of her tongue, she wanted to ask, but the painful memories stopped her. Did she really want to go through the details? Maybe it would be easier to start somewhere else...

"Your brother...Stefan?" As soon as the question left her mouth Lilly realized the implication. Stefan had to be a vampire, too. He was Damon's brother. How could that detail have slipped past her? Of course Stefan was a vampire too if Damon was one.

The new realization hit Lilly a lot harder than it should have. For a good few minutes she was distracted from her current predicament as she sorted out what this new implication meant. She clearly remembered the kind and considerate boy who walked her home at night when she had been afraid of the dark. Picturing him with blood dripping from his fangs seemed impossible. But then again before today she wouldn't have been able to picture Damon that way either. Apparently the friendly human face could turn into a monster in the blink of an eye, so was it really so far-fetched that Stefan could be a murderous villain too? And how many of the deaths were really Stefan's doing instead of Damon's?

The most startling realization was that her sister was with Stefan in this moment. Probably alone. They had been alone many times. Had he bitten her? Would he kill her eventually? "Is Elena safe?"

Damon watched the realization wash over Lilly with intrigue, from the startled gasp over the widening of her eyes to the pale face and it amused him greatly. Of course it hadn't occurred to her that his saintly brother could be just as dangerous as himself. It would be annoying if he wasn't so used to it. But she'd come to the right conclusion eventually. "My good little brother...one has to wonder..." he taunted with a devilish grin.

Lilly's eyes glazed over as different scenarios of her sister's demise flashed through her mind. She vividly remembered Elena's broken bleeding body after the car crash and those images came back to her now, just that in this new version the blood was coming from two distinct puncture wounds on her neck instead of several superficial cuts from the shards of the shattered windshield.

Lilly had been so angry with Elena lately. At the idea of her sister's death, however, the grudges she'd been holding towards her for her treatment of Jeremy disappeared in an instance. She regretted every harsh word she'd spoken to her in the last weeks and now wished she hadn't avoided her. If those were their last days together she certainly didn't want them to be spend in anger. If they had to part she wanted her sister to know that she loved her, despite everything.

When the girl's lower lip began to tremble and tears sprang to her eyes, Damon took pity on her. "Stefan is on an animal diet" he spoke after a long drawn out sigh. "He eats Thumper and Bambi these days. Your sister is fine."

Lilly's gaze snapped up to him at these words. Her eyes were still glassy, but they held hope now. She stared at the vampire for a long moment, trying to distinguish if he was speaking the truth or just placating her. He seemed sincere enough. The smug smirk was gone and he steadily held her gaze. She had no idea if the same rules applied to vampires, but if he was human she would be almost certain he was telling her the truth.

Deciding she had no way of knowing for sure if he lied and she couldn't escape to find out for herself, she gave a curt nod. She'd have to trust his word for now. There was nothing she could do and she needed her wits about her to save her own life.

Something else occurred to her then. Disregarding the dangerous situation for a moment her overloaded brain went off on an odd tangent. "He's a vegetarian?" she blurted out in disbelief. "Like Edward?"

Damon snorted out a laugh at seeing the incredulous expression on her face. He still vividly remembered the conversation about the Twilight saga that took place after he invited himself to the dinner party at the Gilbert house. He had been quite impressed with her speech then. "Kinda ironic, don't you think?" He wondered if she'd still stick to her opinion now that it was real to her and her sister.

Lilly couldn't help the giggles that bubbled up from her chest. In spite of the danger she and her sister were in, she couldn't help but find hilarity in the situation. Her Twilight rant in front of Damon was still fresh in her mind too. "It sure is!" The mental image of Stefan sucking on some bunny – fur between his teeth and all – was simply hilarious. She couldn't believe the irony of her spouting off her opinion on fictional vampires in front of real ones. Now Damon's enthusiastic reaction to her rant made a lot more sense. She'd unknowingly approved his diet and judged his brother's.

Said vampire's grin widened as he studied Lilly's reaction. It made him gleeful. Even faced with the real thing she didn't seem to regret her statement. He'd seen the worry for her sister and the hope when he reassured her. Yet she still found his brother's choice of nutrition ridiculous.

Lilly's amusement was short-lived. She couldn't focus on the humorous thoughts. The memory of her friend's death was too fresh and the fear for her own life (and now her sister's life) too present. Wiping the remnants of humor from her features she tried to concentrate on the issue at hand again. Vampires were real, there was one standing next to her and she had questions. "What...why…" she stuttered through her next question not quite sure what she actually wanted to know and how to word it. "You looked sick down there" she finally stated. "Aren't vam… I thought you are immortal?" She still couldn't quite bring herself to say the word out loud, it sounded too outlandish, but she got her point across.

"I am" Damon confirmed. He had watched her carefully and had seen the shift in her emotions when reality caught up to her. Would she retract her statement now? Make up some bullshit excuse for why she'd been wrong and Stefan's was the right choice? He'd fully expected her to jump on the sanctimonious holier-than-thu-train and possibly even try to persuade him of the errors of his way. She'd pleasantly surprised him again. "We can be starved though. It won't kill us, but it's a very painful process until we desiccate to the point where our bodies are no more than a dry husk."

She stared at him blankly while she processed the information. Damon was left in that cell to rot? That sounded terrible. She couldn't think about this while looking into Damon's face. Her gaze dropped down to watch her own hands as she wrung them in agitation. The Zach she knew was a recluse and not overly friendly, but he was neither hateful nor vindictive. Would he really take part in something so horribly barbaric? Drying out till there were no fluids left in your body sounded incredibly painful. A human could never get to that stage, they would die of thirst first. But if you are immortal and can't die? You would suffer on till your body resembled an ancient mummy. Did the awareness and pain stop when the fluids in your brain dried out? Could vampires pass out? Or were they doomed to endure the pain eternally, witness their own body reduced to a dry husk?

Why could anyone possibly feel the need to subject another being to such cruel torture? To make your own brother suffer like this? She didn't want to believe that the kind and polite boy who selflessly walked her home was capable of this cruelty. And yet the evidence condemned Stefan.

Damon was obviously dangerous. The evidence was laying on the couch before her and on the floor in the basement. Lilly was afraid of him. When she pushed past the shock and fear she was also very angry at him. And yet she couldn't fathom a reason to wish such an atrocious fate onto him.

Fresh tears gathered in her eyes and blurred her view. Apparently she still had some tears left after all. One teardrop made it down her cheek when her eyes snapped up and met Damon's intrigued gaze. "Why?" She forced the question out. It wasn't enough to convey the hurricane of turmoil within her and yet it was exactly right. Why? It was the essence of everything she wanted to know. A reason, a way to justify, a cause to keep the image of friends (dead and alive) intact.

Damon took a moment to think of his answer. Her reaction had surprised him and he didn't quite understand the tears, even though they moved him and seemed to push him into action. Before he could gather his thoughts though, a gasp from the couch interrupted him. He silently cursed but didn't move his gaze from the Gilbert girl. She'd proven entertaining and he was curious to her reaction to the waking of his victim.

Vicky had woken up and was coughing while slowly sitting up. Once she got her faculties under control, the injured girl's gaze wandered around the room. "Where am I?" Her eyes finally landed on the one familiar face. "Lilly? What are you doing here?" Although she didn't know where exactly 'here' was, it seemed weird to Vicky that Jeremy's sister would be with her when she woke from an obvious drug high. Especially with Jeremy nowhere in sight.

Lilly was startled when she heard the gasp to her left. As soon as she realized Vicky was waking up she jumped to her feet, intend on rushing to her brother's lover. Only as soon as she was upright she wavered on her feet. Stars danced in front of her eyes and the edges of her view went black. She reached out to grab onto something, anything to keep her from falling, only to find herself in Damon's arms

Damon, who had his view trained on Lilly, not really interested in his victim but more in his little hostage's reaction, saw her wobbling and her eyes rolling up. He rushed forward to catch her just in time for her knees to give out. He held her in his arms when her gaze slowly focused again and her confused eyes met his worried ones. "You okay?"

Lilly's confused gaze wandered around. Slowly she realized that she had lost her footing and was now in Damon's arms. He'd caught her, saved her from a painful fall to the floor. She couldn't really incorporate that action into her image of the deadly vampire. "Yeah I think...just stood up to fast..." she mumbled, uncomfortable with the closeness.

Fortunately the vampire seemed to be just as uncomfortable and slowly sat her down on her feet. "You need rest" he stated and he wasn't wrong. Apparently she'd spend the entire night crying in an uncomfortable position in a damp basement. Her body surely needed rest.

Vicky chose that moment to have another coughing fit. "What happened? How did I get here?" She wheezed out. "What did you give me?" Lilly could only stare at her. What could she say to her? 'Hey Vic, nice to see you awake. Meet Damon, the vampire who almost killed you and is holding us both hostage. Btw you drank his blood.' Yeah, that would go over well. At a complete loss for sensible words she started to stutter out words to form some sort of explanation, but before she could get too worked up, Damon jumped in.

He was in front of Vicky in the blink of an eye and made eye-contact with her when he spoke. "We met in the woods. You were drunk. I attacked you. Then I killed all of your friends and brought you here, gave you some blood. You loved it. And now we're gonna party till the sun goes down."

Lilly watched in bewilderment as Vicky's dazed expression was replaced by a dopey grin. "Okay!" she chirped and jumped up. The bite marks on her neck had miraculously healed, but the smears of blood were still there. Yet she seemed happy and obviously hadn't comprehended a thing of what Damon just told her.

"What did you do?" Lilly demanded when Damon turned towards her again. He told her that he'd attacked her and killed her friends. Why didn't Vicky freak out? The older girl seemed content, happy even, despite the knowledge. What the hell?

"It's a form of mind-control. I compelled her." Damon explained. "I would do it to you, too, if not for your little bracelet full of vervain."

The explanation didn't help Lilly one bit. Compelled? Vervain? What had her bracelet to do with anything? Her confusion only increased and so she answered with a very eloquent "Huh? What?"

Damon smirked. This was going to be fun. He slowly approached Lilly and when he was close enough to touch looked straight into her eyes. "Vampires can compel humans to bend to the vampire's will when they make eye contact." He suppressed a chuckle when the little girl's eyes widened in comprehension. He grabbed her hand and softly caressed the skin on her wrist just below the offending jewelry. As expected Lilly's breath hitched. Before she could move her eyes away from his and to their entwined hands he continued. "Your bracelet contains an herb, vervain, that keeps me from getting into your mind."

Lilly's mouth opened and closed uselessly. She had no words to respond to this scary new development. She stared at their entwined hands, though her focus was on the bracelet rather than the fact that they were holding hands. "Zach" she whispered almost inaudibly with her gaze firmly fixed on the jewelry. If not for his enhanced hearing Damon would have missed the little confession.

The moment Damon released her hand she snapped out of the daze and went to protest. She took a step towards Vicky, intend on shaking some sense into the delusional junkie. Instead her world shifted again. The ground seemed to move and the edges of her view went black again. She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead, willing the dizziness away.

Damon was beside her in a flash, hands on her hips to steady her. "You should get some rest. Go upstairs and find a room. Sleep for a while" he ordered in a soft tone that surprised not only Lilly but himself too. He held her eyes when she stared into his eyes inquiringly, looking for something even she herself couldn't name. Finally she nodded.

After he was sure she was steady on her feet Damon released her and Lilly went upstairs. There were countless reasons why she shouldn't obey him, why she should look for a way out and certainly why she shouldn't let her guard down and be vulnerable in sleep. But in all reality she was deadly tired. Her body felt heavy, her joints hurt and her brain was overloaded with information. She craved a nap. Damon hadn't killed her yet, she reasoned with herself, and he'd had plenty of time to do so. If he intended to drain her surely he wouldn't send her to rest.

"I need a shower" she heard Vicky declare while she ascended the stairs. "But first, can I have another hit?" Knowing she meant Damon's blood Lilly shuddered in disgust and sped up her steps. She passed a few doors until she decided on a room. The suite was designed in dark red and black colors. The bed was large with a frame of teak and black silk sheets. It looked so inviting and Lilly didn't feel like she could stay on her feet much longer. She kicked her sneakers off and collapsed on the comfortable mattress. With a content sigh she curled up into a ball and fell asleep before she could count to three. Her exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

* * *

Damon had satiated his thirst on his captive blood bag again and sent her off to shower. He was deep in thought with his gaze fixed on the stairs where the little Gilbert girl had disappeared from his view.

She had thrown him for a loop. Usually he had a pretty solid knowledge of human nature. He could anticipate a person's reactions to a tee. It was a skill honed in many years of observing and playing with his food. But Lilly had confounded his expectations from the first time she opened her mouth, only when he compelled the meal had she shown an expected reaction: disapproval.

Not only had she asked unexpected questions, but beside the undercurrent of natural fear her reactions had not once matched his expectations.

He had watched her work through the information with open curiosity, observed all the unconscious little gasps and twitches. Her reaction intrigued him. He knew her views on vampirism – or at least the blood drinking part. He'd also distinguished that she'd been close to his grand-nephew. The little tidbit of her receiving the vervain bracelet from Zach was useful information. He would have sworn Stefan provided her with the protection.

She now knew what he was and while her precast opinions might help her overcome his nature, there was no way to look past him murdering her friend in front of her. He couldn't compel her unless he found a way to persuade her to take her bracelet off. With the amount of distrust she portrait he doubted he could easily talk her into that. Especially now that he'd carelessly informed her of it's purpose. Oh how he wished he could compel her. He wouldn't take her memories of him being a vampire, no. That part she would deal with handsomely on her own and he rather liked the idea of her accepting him, human blood and all. Only his part in Zach's demise needed to be erased from her memories.

Her tears on his behalf when she found out about the consequences of his imprisonment had left him completely dumbfounded. She'd cried for him. Him the murderer of her friend. Him who held her captive and fed from one of her peers. She knew what he was, what he did, and still she lost tears for him.

Why did she do that? It didn't make sense. She should fear him and she did. The fear was obvious in her wide eyes, her racing heart and her behavior. Despite the fear she'd felt compassion for him. She should hate him though. Hate him for the murder, for the crime to humanity, for his very being. That she didn't hate him and felt for his pain instead left him with a strange feeling in his gut. A strange warmth he didn't understand.

One thing was certain: this girl didn't have one vindictive bone in her body.

He'd also seen the disbelief and revulsion on her face when she understood that it was his own brother Stefan who locked him up and it made him almost bounce giddily. This feeling wasn't confusing. He knew exactly why he felt the way he did about this little tidbit. As long as he could remember Stefan had always been the golden boy. People easily judged Damon for his misdeeds and yet they let Stefan get off with much worse. The prospect of someone seeing his saintly brother for what he really was filled him with giddy anticipation.

Deciding to check that the little girl hadn't gone lost he walked upstairs in search for her and stopped dead in his tracks when he found her in his own room. He hovered on his doorstep watching her almost mesmerized. She was curled up on his bed, fast asleep with her blond curls fanned out on the pillow, a stark contrast to the black sheets. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. No frown marks or signs of fear on her face, when she exhaled her even breath slightly moved a strand of hair that had fallen in her face.

He'd told her to find a room. She'd found his. Of all the many guest rooms of the boarding house she'd chosen his. Why? She couldn't possibly know it was his, could she? Either way he found that she looked like she belonged here. The strange warmth was back in his gut. Almost like pulled on a string he moved closer until he stood right beside the bed. Carefully, as not to wake her, he brushed the strand of hair away from her face, his hand remaining on her cheek a moment longer than necessary.

With a contented sigh Lilly moved out of her curled up position into a more relaxed one and nuzzled her cheek into his hand in the process. He froze in place, nervously waiting, but she didn't wake up. Very slowly he removed his hand and pulled the blanket from the other side of the bed over her.

Just when he stepped back to watch her some more from a distance he heard the meal emerge from her shower. "Oh man. That shower was so great" she declared loudly and Damon hurriedly stepped out of the room and pulled the door close behind him.

The warmth disappeared and his signature smirk returned. Good, he didn't need this little slip of a girl to distract him from his goal. Time to have fun with the blood bag. "Great. Let's dance!" he declared, grabbed onto the still half naked Vicky and twirled downstairs towards the parlor with her.

* * *

 **Here, a Lilly-Damon-centric chapter.**

 **Wow, it has been a long time since I updated. So sorry. Please know, that I haven't abandoned this story. I'm still very interested in it.**

 **This chapter tho was a struggle. It didn't agree with me at all. My characters kept running off on tangents and didn't behave at all like I wanted them to.**

 **My intention with this chapter was to show the connection between the two without overdoing it. I wanted Lilly afraid, but not out of her mind scared. I wanted Damon caring and interested, but not mushy.**

 **Lilly had to get some info on vampires, but I struggled to keep her in character through it.**

 **I'm really anxious about this. Please forgive me for the long wait. Your reviews always mean the world to me, but with this chapter I could really use some feedback.**


	9. Chapter 9

Lilly shot up with wide eyes. What...where? Her world spun in circles and with a groan she closed her eyes and dropped back into the comfortable mattress. This was really nice. She felt like she was laying on a piece of heaven. While her own bed was great, this was better. So if this wasn't her bed, where was she?

Carefully she opened her eyes again and sat up. Slowly this time as not to send the world spinning again. She looked around feeling disoriented and confused. Where the hell was she? This room was unfamiliar. What had woken her? Why was she still tired?

A crash from the next room startled her and everything came rushing back. Damon, Zach, vampires...Damon was a vampire and killed Zach. Because Stefan was a vampire, too. She couldn't leave. Because Damon was a vampire. With fangs...and red eyes and...bites and killing… Sitting on the side of the bed her head dropped into her hands. She felt like curling up under the blanket again. Where had that come from anyway? She was pretty sure she didn't get under the covers when she came up her to lay down.

Another loud thunk from down the hall snapped her out of her thoughts. She scrambled to put her shoes back on and made her way towards the noise. Thinking better of it she slowed down and took more careful steps. Did it matter? Could one sneak up to a vampire? There were still so many things she didn't know. Absently her fingers stroked over the bracelet on her wrist. Zach knew these things. If only he could teach her...no, she couldn't go there. Not now, not here.

Damon only half listened to Vicky rambling on and on about her pathetic life. The delicious little morsel had woken up and was coming out of his room. He chuckled. Did she really think she could sneak up on him? Getting annoyed by the meal jabbering into his ear he focused back on her. This one had outlived her usefulness. Unless…

"I think I know what can help you" he murmured to appease the blood bag and wait for the right moment. His little captive slowly but steadily made her way across the hall. "So, what is that?" Vicky inquired but he paid her little mind. Just a few more steps, yes, there we are. "Death" he stated calmly and snapped Vicky's neck, letting her drop to the floor.

Lilly couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't even hear the gasp leaving her lungs. Just a moment ago Vicky was alive and now...no no, not again. She scrambled forward but stopped when she remembered the vampire standing right next to her brother's lover. "She...did you..." she stammered, not taking her eyes of the usually so bubbly girl. "Is she..." Vicky was usually so lively, a little on the twitchy side actually. Seeing her so completely unmoving was disconcerting. Especially with the noise of her cracking neck echoing the one Lilly had heard in the basement...when Zach died. "You killed her" she finally accused, though it sounded weak even in her own ears.

Damon chuckled. He enjoyed the show. "She'll be fine" he declared confidently and turned his back on the scene to refill his glass from the bottle on the sideboard. Sipping his scotch he watched Lilly shake her head in disbelief. Vicky had quite a bit of his blood in her system. It probably wouldn't take long so he elaborated. "She'll wake up."

"How?" Lilly burst out like he was insane only for realization to hit her. "No" she murmured shaking her head violently in denial. "That's not possible. She's not...no!" Damon kept watching patiently, waiting for her to work it out and not reacting to her searching eyes. "She'll wake up as a vampire?" Lilly breathed out almost inaudibly as if saying it out loud would make it too real.

"No, she won't" Damon immediately denied. Now this part was his favorite. He could almost taste her hope on his tongue when he breathed in. He would take great pleasure in bursting her little bubble of hope. "I told you it's an elaborate process. She will wake up and freak out. Then she'll need to drink human blood or die!" he announced cheerfully.

The shocked expression on the girl's face didn't give him the satisfaction he'd expected. He frowned. This was supposed to be the good part. Why wasn't he enjoying her shock? Anger surged through him. This little girl was really getting on his last nerve! She never reacted like she should, she asked the right questions and she made him feel...things. She was a nuisance! Maybe he should just drain her now. She certainly smelled enticing enough. His entertainment was laying semi-dead on the floor and surely a transforming junkie was enough of an incentive for Stefan… Unfortunately the entertainment woke up before he could finalize his plans for eating the little disturbance.

Lilly recoiled in shock when Vicky shot up with a gasp. She had been dead. No pulse, no heartbeat, no breathing. And now she was...not dead? Were vampires actually alive or...undead? The confusing thought momentarily stunned Lilly. How does one define the mortal status of a vampire? They move and talk...does that make them a living being? And what of Vicky? According to Damon's words she wasn't a full vampire yet. And she had most certainly been dead. Can you be an undead undead? A living undead? An undead living? Why was she even thinking such insane thoughts with a live and a...not so live...vampire around her? There the thought-carousel started for another round.

She rubbed her eyes as if that could erase the lunacy from her brain. Apparently she'd already missed most of the conversation while taking a mental vacation to la-la-land. Sounded like Vicky was leaving. Not that Damon would let her escape. Wait what?

Tuning into the conversation Lilly couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were talking about feeding and craving blood and falling apart. All that probably should alert Lilly, but after the craziness of her day she just didn't have it in her anymore. The next words out of Damon's mouth, however, did cause a reaction. "You should go" he said. "If I were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house." The merry-go-round of advanced insanity in her head screeched to an emergency halt when Vicky seemed to agree and left the room.

It took Lilly's muddled brain a few heartbeats to process what had been said, but when it sunk in what Damon just implied she jumped into action with no hesitation. "NO!" she screamed and raced after Vicky in a panic. Stumbling down the stairs, almost falling a few times she ran towards the front door as fast as her legs would let her.

Damon was stunned for a moment by the shrill scream. He hadn't expected such an explosive reaction from her after she'd been docile all day long. She hadn't even tried to flee before. Earlier today he could practically see the cogs turning in her head while she had been debating her chances for an escape, but she hadn't tried it. Until now. Of course he couldn't let her go. As the look-alike's sister she was the perfect leverage to get Stefan to return his daylight ring so he used his enhanced speed to catch her.

Lilly had almost made it to the front door and even gained up on Vicky. She could see her through the now wide open door when suddenly out of nowhere Damon appeared in front of her, right inside the door, away from sunlight. Lilly faltered, but didn't stop. Gone was all the fear she'd had of him and for her own life. She had to get to her twin before the transforming Vicky could kill him. The danger the dark vampire posed seemed insignificant compared to the prospect of losing Jeremy. She simply couldn't lose Jeremy. She wouldn't survive it.

So she tried to push past Damon and to the door, but he caught her around the waist and lifted her up. Her feet left the floor, but she kept kicking, almost as if she was still running. The open door was still right in front of her and she wanted to get past it so so badly. Her struggles increased. "Uh uh, non of that. You stay here" Damon stated in an infuriatingly calm tone.

Her kicking became more violent. "No!" she screeched furiously. "Let me go!" She aimed at his legs now, hoping her heels might hit his knees or the sensitive spot above the shin so he'd let her go. Her arms flailed in a desperate attempt to hurt him with her elbows. "Let go!" But he easily held her at a distance, suspended in midair as if she weighed nothing more than a feather and despite her best efforts she couldn't find the purchase she needed. "Let me go!"

Damon let her kick and scream until she lost some of her steam. It took surprisingly long. She had endurance, he had to give her that and he could tell there was some strength in her legs. Probably from all the gymnastics and running she did – he'd done his homework and found out all he could about her after he was blindsided by her appearance at the dinner party. But despite all that training she was still just a slip of a girl and absolutely no match for a century-old vampire.

As soon as her kicks lost their power and her screams subsided, he nudged the door close and turned her around in his arms so she was facing him. They had been standing inches away from the sunlight and it unnerved him. Stefan better produce his ring fast or he couldn't be held accountable for whom else he killed. Scowling at the closed door he took several steps back, still not allowing Lilly's feet to touch the floor.

If he thought she was done yet he had another thing coming though. As soon as she faced him she renewed her efforts to kick him and actually managed to hit painful spots a few times. Not enough to really hurt him, not when he was filled to the brim with human blood from his nighttime banquet. He was actually impressed, because she was growing exhausted, obvious by her breathless panting, yet she was relentless in her efforts. Any fear she'd felt before seemed to have evaporated. What could possibly be this important?

Lilly's fists were pounding on his chest now that he'd turned her to face him. She desperately needed to get away, get to Jeremy. Damon's arms around her felt like iron bands and no matter how much she kicked he just wouldn't budge! She had no idea how long they'd fought, but she could feel her strength leaving her. She'd stopped screaming in an attempt to preserve her strength, channel it to were it was useful. But it wasn't useful anywhere. Her battering fists didn't even seem to faze him and when he brought his other arm around her to pull her upper body close, effectively trapping her fists between them, she broke down sobbing.

It was useless, everything was lost. She lost. She lost the fight for her brother. Internally she was apologizing to her twin for being so weak. Too week to break free and save him. Her hands were trapped between her body and the vampire's. Despite her current hate for him she couldn't help but curl her hands into his shirt, grabbing it for some semblance of comfort. Her head dropped to his shoulder and she cried. She cried for all the different images her desolate mind conjured of Jeremy's dead body. She cried for her own weakness, for her failure and she even cried for Vicky.

Damon had hugged her close to his chest to stop the frenetic pounding. Sure, she couldn't really hurt him, but being repeatedly hit with her fists was definitely uncomfortable. Her reaction surprised him yet again. She broke.

It was hard to make out words over the crying and gasps of exhaustion. "Not my brother, please." Even his superior hearing only caught short desperate pleas between the sobs. "Can't lose Jeremy." His arms instinctively tightened around her. "Please, I need him." She'd given up any attempts to get away from him by now. "Please, please, I need him." Her hands were fisted into his shirt and he could feel her tears drenching the fabric. "Jeremy..." The pleas became shorter and eventually died down completely. With the girl held so close in his arms he could actually feel the fight leaving her.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered before she stilled. Damon looked down at the girl in his arms. Her body was completely limp. For a moment he thought it might be a trick, but he dismissed the idea as soon as more tears wet his shirt. His little captive gave up fighting. Even her sobbing had stopped. A little disturbed by this newest development Damon squeezed his arms and when that still didn't get a response from the girl, he nudged her shoulder softly.

Lilly had given up. She didn't know how long the vampire had restrained her, but she was sure Vicky got to Jeremy by now. She was just as sure that despite her best efforts she couldn't break free. It was hopeless. When Damon nudged her she obediently looked up and met his gaze.

Damon stared down in shock at the girl in his arms. She'd finally responded to something and looked up at him, but what he saw...he blinked. The girl was staring up at him with absolutely no expression. Her eyes looked dead and empty and for a moment he had the impression of watching at a vampire flip the switch.

What the hell was this? Her twin brother was this important? Damon squirmed under her unseeing unrelenting gaze. He'd liked her joy, short-lived as it was in his presence. He'd felt uncomfortable with her fear and despised her anger, but this new defeated, emotionless version was far worse.

Carefully he tried to set her on her feet. She collapsed and he barely caught her before she hit the ground. It took several tries before she stood on her own legs. "Lillian!" Damon demanded sternly when even as she stood there was still no sign of life in her eyes. "Go to your brother."

Lilly's eyes snapped to Damon's at this command. Her gaze wandered aimlessly, confused, checking that she was really free. When she realized that he wasn't restricting her anymore she took hesitant steps towards the door and pulled it open. Stepping into the sunlight she looked over her shoulder again to find Damon nod at her in confirmation. Why it mattered she didn't know, after his agreement she darted out of the door, not bothering to close it behind her. She just ran.

Damon breathed a sigh of relief when he briefly saw life returning to Lilly's eyes before she fled. He couldn't bring himself to regret letting her go. Was it a tactical error? Sure was. But if she returned home in this much distress it might just compel his saintly brother to try and prevent further damage by returning his ring.

Lilly didn't care about any of it. She cut through the woods, the shortest way to her home from the boarding house. She stumbled a few times on the uneven ground and scraped her knees, but she never stopped. At some point she had to cross the street. A car barely managed to stopped inches away from hitting her and the driver furiously honked the horn. Lilly didn't even notice it.

Arriving at her house, completely out of breath, she burst through the front door. For once she was glad for her safe little town. Nobody ever locked their doors. "Jeremy!" she gasped between pants as soon as she burst through the door. Lilly was fit, she was used to running, but this mad dash brought even her to her limits.

Only Elena appeared from the kitchen. The older girl looked worried and her lips moved. Was she talking to her? Lilly heard the blood rush in her ears and not much else. Halfway through the living room a hand grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her attention away from her goal, the stairs. "Are you alright?" the brunette questioned letting her gaze wander over her little sister's body, lingering for a moment on her neck to check for bite wounds. "Did he hurt you?"

Still gasping for breath Lilly couldn't get enough air into her lungs for a lengthy explanation. She didn't have the patience either. "Where is Jeremy?" She shook her head no to her sister's questions, but that wasn't enough for Elena. She couldn't understand the younger girl's behavior. Why was she acting odd? What had her so frantic? She couldn't be in transition too, could she?

Elena grabbed onto Lilly's shoulders to keep her in place. "You need to tell me what happened." She directed a pleading gaze over her shoulder to Stefan, who was observing the duo from the kitchen entryway with a stoic expression. At Elena's prompting he stepped closer intent on checking the young girl for any signs of transformation.

As soon as Stefan reached for Lilly she visibly recoiled from the touch of the boy she now knew to be a bloodthirsty creature of nightmares. She could not stand being this close to him, couldn't stand this entire situation. "I need to see Jeremy" she voiced her thoughts and pulled out of her sister's grip to run upstairs.

Her brother stepped out of his room, alerted by the voices from downstairs. Upon seeing him standing in front of her, healthy and well, Lilly let out a strangled choke; half sob half laugh and tumbled into his arms. Jeremy was fine. Her limbs slightly shook, whether from exhaustion or relief she didn't know, but he held her. Jeremy was unharmed. Her breathing had evened out considerably since her mad dash through town and was now coming back to normal. No bite wounds on Jeremy. Her wildly pounding heart calmed down to a more reasonable pace. Jeremy was with her. Slowly she relaxed in her brother's arms. Jeremy was alright. Everything was fine.

The boy couldn't make sense of his twin's weird behavior. Never before had he seen her in such a frenzy. She didn't even seem to be aware that she was speaking though he couldn't make out the mumbled words.

Downstairs Stefan had been listening in with his superior hearing and he was able to understand what Lilly was saying. He could only deduce that Damon had somehow threatened Jeremy, probably another message to Stefan himself, because there was no way the girl could have escaped the angry vampire. He must have let her go for Stefan to witness her distress. The message was clear: return the ring or else… A fresh wave of loathing cursed through the younger vampire, but he didn't see a way around it. He would have to return the precious daylight jewelry or there was no telling what havoc Damon would cause. Nobody Stefan even remotely cared about was safe until his brother got what he wanted.

Jeremy held onto his sister while she calmed down. He knew her well enough to be sure that there was no point in questioning her until she got it out of her system. Whatever 'it' was. He wracked his brain for an explanation for her state of distress, but nothing came to mind. He remembered only one instance when she had been in a similar state, years and years ago.

 _They were in first or second grade. The memory was a little fuzzy._

 _All the children were on the playground, after lunch break probably._

 _He didn't know where his sister was, but he was playing on the jungle gym when a boy approached him. The boy had harassed him before, chased him away from the slide so his gang could play there instead. The boy was older and a lot bigger and stronger than Jeremy._

 _Jeremy was scared,_ _but he tried to appear calm as he carefully inched away and made to climb down. The bully was faster though. He caught up to Jeremy and with a nasty sneer he kicked at the terrified boy from above._

 _To this day he had no idea how Lilly found out about this and where she came from. Had she seen the incident? Or heard his scream? Had he even screamed? Rumors spread fast, even among children, maybe she heard it through the grapevine. Either way she was beside him in what seemed like seconds._

 _It took only one look at him. He was laying on his back, tears of pain streaming down his face and had a nasty cut on his forehead that was gushing blood down the side of his face as he looked up at his twin sister._

 _Back then her hair had been lighter than the honey blonde it was now and the curls were more pronounced. On that day she_ _had a white bow in her hair and w_ _ore a light pink_ _sundress_ _. She was the picture of innocence. If not for the expression on her face._ _She was absolutely livid._ _From his position she looked like an avenging angel in that moment._

 _The bully had climbed down and stood to the side, presumably enjoying the results of his handiwork, when Lilly marched up to him and without preamble punched him in the face._ _Blood was spurting from his nose and he cried out, but Lilly didn't even spare him another glance._

 _A circle of curious children had formed around them. Lilly ignored them all when she dropped to her knees next to_ _Jeremy_ _._ _Tears were still streaming down his face. His entire back felt like it was on fire from the fall, his head hurt terribly and a few drops of blood had fallen into his eye making his view blurry._

 _Lilly cooed at him, whispering reassurance while using the edge of her skirt to wipe away the tears. She then carefully dabbed at the blood around the cut on his forehead ruining the garment in the process, not that she seemed to care about that._ _Despite his pain and distress, he felt safe in that moment. His twin was with him and she wouldn't allow anyone to hurt him anymore._

 _The incident didn't go unnoticed by the adults. An ambulance was called and since a child was involved it arrived within minutes. A couple of teachers had herded the children into the building and one of them now attempted to entice Lilly away from him._

 _She wasn't cooperative. Two teachers were needed to restrain her while the paramedics checked on him and loaded him into the vehicle. Lilly screamed bloody murder when the doors of the ambulance were closed and she lost sight of him._

 _Jeremy's last view of his sister before he was driven to the hospital was of her fighting the adults that were restraining her. She was kicking and screaming_ _and yelling his name_ _as she tried to get to him. He tried to stop the proceedings, he wanted to yell at the teachers to let his sister go, tried to tell the paramedics to take her with them, but he was forcibly pushed down on the gurney and soon he was passing in and out of consciousness from the pain medication they had injected him with._

 _It turned out his injuries weren't serious._ _According to the doctor h_ _ead wounds_ _often_ _bled hard and seemed much worse than they actually were. The cut on his forehead only needed cleaning and_ _an adhesive strip_ _. He had a few bruises around the vertebrae in his_ _upper_ _back._ _It would hurt for a while, but there was no lasting damage._

 _Still the whole procedure seemed to take ages and his family wasn't allowed in before everything was checked out and treated. When he was finally released his parents welcomed him with relieved smiles, but Lilly was beside herself._

 _Her whole body was shaking from suppressed sobs and tear tracks trailed down her cheeks. She practically jumped on him as soon as the ER doors opened for him, though she was mindful of his injuries. He felt her tremble in his arms. It took the combined reassurance of both him and their parents and a considerable amount of time before she calmed down enough to allow him to move out of her embrace._

This long forgotten incident was the only reference Jeremy found and it didn't make sense. Back then Lilly believed him to be in mortal danger. The whole production with paramedics, blue lights and sirens had scared the seven year-old girl. How could she have known that it was only standard procedure whenever there was a chance for an injury to the spine. She understandably assumed the worst.

What could possibly have triggered a similar reaction now? During Jeremy's trip down memory lane he had continued to rub Lilly's back soothingly and he noticed now, that she'd calmed down in his arms. Carefully as not to startle her he pulled back so he could face her.

However, before he could even start to question his distressed twin, the doorbell rang and an agitated Matt rushed into the house demanding to know where Vicky was. All eyes went to the newcomer, who was led to Jeremy's bedroom. Stefan took charge and Jeremy looked torn. He still held onto Lilly. He couldn't let her go now. As much as he worried about his girlfriend, his twin came first.

Lilly's shoulder's straightened at the torn look on her twin's face. 'Jeremy is fine', she reassured herself. 'Everything is good. He needs to worry about his girlfriend now.' When his gaze returned to her Lilly looked more composed. "Later" she murmured for only him to hear and slightly nudged him towards his room. With a curt nod Jeremy rushed to his room.

They had found an understanding to clear up the issue between them later, in private, and while Lilly didn't particularly want Jeremy anywhere near Vicky while she was this unstable, she knew though that until Vicky was okay Jeremy wouldn't be calm enough for the bewildering revelations she had to offer.

* * *

The afternoon took a turn for the worse after Vicky fled. Lilly desperately wanted to confide the whole vampire drama to Jeremy, but her brother was restless with worry for his disappearing girlfriend. She knew they needed quiet for this particular twin-talk and in the midst of drama was neither the time nor the place.

Elena didn't help matters at all. The older girl was adamant that neither Jeremy nor their aunt Jenna find out anything about vampires. She demanded Lilly keep the secret. The kicker was: Elena claimed this was to protect Jeremy and Jenna. Lilly could only roll her eyes at that. Protection through ignorance? That sounded fishy at best, idiotic most likely.

Stefan had left to track Vicky and Jeremy was sulking in his room, so there was no buffer between the girls. Lilly's brain was already overloaded with everything she'd learned today, she needed time to grieve Zach's death too. She desperately needed space. Literally and figuratively. Elena, however, didn't give up. The brunette kept asking about Lilly's time with Damon, which Lilly just wanted to forget and not rehash with her judgmental sister. When that topic was dropped Elena went on and on about the importance of secrecy.

At some point Lilly simply couldn't take the yapping anymore. Elena even followed her into her room and kept talking when Lilly pretended to do homework. Eventually she agreed to keep Jenna in the dark for now. She made no promises in regards of Jeremy though. There was no way she would keep any secret from her twin, let alone one of this magnitude. When Lilly was about to lose it completely and use physical force to kick her annoying sister out, the doorbell interrupted them.

Both girls went downstairs and even Jeremy left his room to join them. Elena answered the door only to find Damon there. She attempted to send both her siblings upstairs, but only Jeremy obeyed, reluctantly and under protest. She only succeeded in pushing Lilly behind her. She couldn't stop Damon from entering the house.

"May I come in?" he asked mockingly while stepping over the threshold. "Oh. Of course I can. I have been invited." Cocky smirk firmly in place Damon sauntered into the house. "Don't worry. Killing you right now wouldn't serve my greater agenda."

Lilly couldn't be sure Damon hadn't seen her yet. She stood partly hidden in the doorway to the living room, but with the vampire superpowers there was no way of knowing what Damon could or couldn't sense. Regardless, she kept still and observed. Although she had a hard time not doing more than rolling her eyes when Elena started spouting self-righteous nonsense. Who was Katherine though?

Tired of the look-alike's tedious accusations Damon turned and looked directly at Lilly. So he had known she was there the entire time. Good to know. A part of her brain filed that information away for later. The dominant part of her was scared, evident by the surprised gasp and increase of heart-beat when he focused on her.

Damon fought a smirk. This one really was so much more fun. "Your brother okay?" he asked honestly curious. She nodded and without his enhanced senses he would have missed the whispered "Yes, thanks." So refreshing. Despite him killing someone in front of her, holding her hostage for a day and almost having her beloved twin brother killed, there still weren't any accusations. Sure, she feared him. But the level of fear wasn't any higher than her sister's. He figured it was down to the fact that the little girl wasn't an obnoxious twit like her older sister. Siblings could be very different. He and Stefan were proof of that. With a nod he turned back to the offending look-alike. "Where is Stefan?"

Lilly couldn't listen to the conversation. Her mind was on overdrive once again. Damon's presence shook her. She hadn't had any time to process today's events. She knew he was dangerous. And she was afraid of him. She also couldn't completely dismiss the fact that he hadn't hurt her. Not when he first forced her out of the cellar and certainly not while she slept peacefully in a vampire's lair. That little fact threw her. At the time it didn't seem like she had much of a choice. In hindsight the idea of letting herself be so vulnerable seemed preposterous. But she had been safe. In all reality she didn't even have any bruises where he held her when she fought to get to Jeremy. Despite all her best efforts to cause him bodily harm. She'd seen his strength in action with both Zach and Vicky, she knew what he could do to a human. There was no doubt in her mind that he possessed the ability to do serious damage to her person without exerting himself and his actions showed that he held little consideration for human life. Yet here she stood, unharmed.

* * *

 **A little more insight into the relationship between Lilly and Jeremy; along with some inner conflict for Damon.**

 **I hope you like it. Please review.**


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